Sword Attack Online ON HOLD
by EremikaHaven
Summary: Eren Jaeger travels to Japan with his parents to buy the coolest new game, Sword Attack Online. But after he, and thousands of other players are trapped in the game, they soon learn, it is not a game anymore. After he is saved by Mikasa, a physically strong Japanese girl, with a desire to return to her parents, the two bond close and fight to escape the game together. Eremika.
1. Tutorial

**Author's Note: So...this is something I've had in planning for two weeks. Its gonna be huge. Hope you guys enjoy it! Also, don't worry, I'll still be updating Wings of Freedom and The Red String of Fate. Please review, thanks!**

 _Level 1:_

 _Tutorial_

The streets of Tokyo city were crowded. People walking through the streets to get to work, schoolgirls crowding local McDonalds to get a late lunch, having just got out of school, tourists crowding famous sites, and cosplayers heading to a Con.

But the most crowded spot in Tokyo, was the Gamestop. There were around 200 people waiting in line, the line going all the way passed the ice cream parlor next door, the Arcade, the movie cinema and even the Manga cafe.

But not all the teenagers waiting in line were Japanese teens. There were teens from different countries also in line. From Europe, from America, from other parts of Asia, etc.

Running towards the Gamestop, through the crowd was a 15 year old German boy.

"There it is!", he exclaimed, excitedly. "Eren, wait up!", Carla, his mother cried. "You'll get lost!", added his father, Grisha.

"Come on already! I'm already behind 200 people!", Eren said, impatiently. He had brown hair and green eyes.

"Just hang on", his parents caught up. "This is a big city, you can't run off like that", Grisha scolded.

"I get it, but I really need to get in line! Thousands of people have already been here and logged on!", Eren replied.

"All right, here's the money. Your mother is going to be right with you while I go to the patient's home", Grisha said.

He handed Eren money.

Eren's father was a doctor, and a very wealthy Japanese family paid him to look at their great grandfather.

They lived outside of Tokyo, more in the country, so Grisha would be gone overnight. In the meantime, Carla and Eren would stay in a hotel.

But first, Eren had much bigger things in mind.

Eren got in line, all the way back by the Manga Cafe. Cosplayers of Sailor Moon and Inuyasha came and went outside the cafe.

Eren paced nervously in a small circle.

After two hours, he was halfway there. His face lit up, he could finally see the sign advertising it.

It said "Sword Attack Online: Released TODAY". Eren had learned to read and speak Japanese just so he could play the game.

"I'm actually here!", Eren cheered, excitedly. Two Japanese girls were ahead of him. They both wore dark blue sailor school uniforms with red ties.

One girl had braided dark brown hair, looking excited too.

The girl beside her had shorter black hair. She glanced behind at Eren, having dark blackish blue eyes. "You're that excited for this game?", she asked.

Eren blinked, shocked by her question.

"Of course! Aren't you?!", he asked. The girl sighed. "I'm not a big gamer, my friend dragged me along", she replied.

"Seriously?!", Eren gawked at her. The girl glared slightly.

"I'm guessing you're one of those tourists who learned Japanese just for this stupid game...", she commented.

Eren sweat dropped. "N-No! Of course not!", he lied.

Eren starred at her, even glared. He couldn't believe there was someone in this line who wasn't excited, but had to be FORCED to come by a school friend.

'She really doesn't know how lucky she is...', Eren thought. He was beyond lucky himself. Originally, he was going to have to wait a whole year before the game released internationally.

But since his dad had to travel here anyway, it all worked out.

Finally, by sunset it was finally his turn. Eren went up to the desk.

"One copy of Sword Attack Online!", he said, anxiously.

"You lucked out, last copy left", the cashier said, handing it over. Eren gave him the money, and darted out of there excited, not waiting for the receipt.

"Finally..I got it!", Eren grinned, holding the game close to his chest.

Sword Attack Online has become the biggest deal to gamers. It had been in development for 10 years. The year was 2025, and it was finally finished.

The game had a VERY epic and specific setup. It takes place in medieval times. The idea of the game is to kill different animals (wolves, boars, bears, bucks, mountain lions and such) for HP and leveling up, in order to battle monsters and complete all 100 floors.

Each floor is more dangerous than the last. And the monsters you're able to fight include dragons, mutants, and many more.

Each Boss is a creature called a Titan. And each one gets bigger and strongest in each level.

The game also offers Quests, Unicorns, and more. The game offers the player to play as one of Four Characters.

The Solider, a player who is best at Quests and fighting monsters. They carry special swords and wear 3DM Gear.

The Royal, a player who is able to be Princess, Prince, King or Queen and is heavily protected. Only a Royal is able to complete the Unicorn Quest. Royals' weapons are katanas.

The Wizard, a player who using Magic instead of weapons to complete Quests and battle bosses.

And finally, The Titan. A player who plays as a Titan can defeat Bosses much easier, and are able to devour and eat monsters and animals. Even other players.

But the most unique and exciting part of the game, the reason why people from all over the world traveled to Japan just to buy it...is the new feature.

You put on a special Headgear, and it looks and seems like you're actually _inside_ the game.

Eren hurried into his room in the hotel. Carla went out to buy dinner.

"Finally...!", Eren grinned. He put the Headgear on, and lay down on his bed.

He inserted his user-name and password. A fancy text came up asking to "Pick your character". Eren scrolled through, and chose Titan.

His Titan character stood 15 meters tall, had long dark brown hair, green eyes and pointy ears.

He then pressed Enter Floor 1.

As soon as he entered, he grinned widely. He was surrounded by thousands of other players on the same floor.

A total of 600, 000 players, from all over the world.

Everyone, from royals, to soldiers, to other Titans, and to Wizards. "Amazing...!", Eren said. He then grinned.

There was a Titan Roar option. He pressed it. His character released a mighty roar that sounded...so real. Like he was actually roaring in real life.

He first sprinted to the field, where he saw a pack of wolves, all growling. Eren sprinted at them, and punched several, and even devoured one.

His XP went up by 5.

"This is so real...", he said, amazed. Eren then blinked, seeing a player hiding behind a bush.

"What the?", he walked over. He saw a Wizard character, hiding. The Wizard had no beard, but simply a dark blue pointy hat with stars on it. Along with a purple velvet robe.

"Please don't eat me! I'm just a noob, give me a break!", the wizard cowered. The voice sounded like a young boy. When you talked in the game, it was your real life voice.

"Take it easy, I'm not gonna eat you", Eren assured. The wizard looked up. "You're not?", he asked. "Nope. I'm not one of those Titan players who just play to eat others", Eren assured.

"Oh...thank goodness. I've nearly been killed 30 times already by Titan players", the wizard explained, getting up.

"Yikes...sounds rough", Eren said. "The Wizard players are picked on the most, most of the Titan players are brutes", the wizard said.

"I heard. So uh...what's your name?", asked Eren. "Well my username is MerlinsKittens" replied the wizard.

"Seriously? No wonder you're getting picked on. What's your real name?", asked Eren. "Armin. I'm from Sweden", replied the wizard.

"That sounds more normal. Mine is Eren, I'm from German", Eren said.

After the two killed some animals together, raising their XP, sunset approached in the game. "I forgot the game has night and day effects", Armin said.

"It also has weather changes too. It's so awesome", Eren added.

"I have to admit, I didn't think there were any nice players in here, but you seem like a cool guy", Armin said.

"Thanks", Eren replied.

"It's getting late, I think I'll get off for a bit", decided Armin. "Okay", Eren replied. Armin brought up his screen, but the Logout button was gone.

"What the...?", Armin blinked. "What's wrong?", asked Eren.

"The Logout button...it's not here", replied Armin. "Of course it is, bring up settings", Eren instructed.

"I'm telling you, it's gone!", Armin insisted. Eren blinked, he opened his own screen, and sure enough, there was no Logout button.

"What the hell?", he asked. "Maybe its just a bug...", wondered Armin.

"I'm sure it is, the game just came out. There's gonna be bugs", Eren assured. "But then..how will I get out?", asked Armin.

"Don't panic, I'm sure there's some other way", Eren looked through his screen. Of course there had to be some other way out.

For bugs like this, the developers had to make sure there was a way out.

But despite how much he searched, there was no other way out. Pressing Power Off did nothing, and neither did "Escape"

"What the...?", Eren felt himself starting to panic now. They...they couldn't be trapped in a game, could they?

"What's going on?", Armin started to panic.

Suddenly, they both were teleported. Eren blinked, disorientated. He looked around to see he and Armin were transported to the center of Floor 1, in the courtyard with all the Sakura trees and a fountain.

"What the?", Eren saw thousands of other confused players were also teleported here against their will.

There was couple other Titan players, a female one included with Blonde hair. There were several soldiers, and Royals as well.

There was a pair of Royals who looked like boyfriend and girlfriend, clinging to each other.

"What the hell is going on?", one solider asked.

Just then, the dusk colored sky was completely covered with a red wall. Many players looked frightened.

The red wall had the repeated words "WARNING" on them.

"A virus...?", wondered Armin, fearfully. Just then, a lightening bolt struck behind the courtyard wall.

Eren looked, alarmed to see smoke coming up. And then...a strange creature.

It was a Titan, but was much bigger. The Size limit on a Titan in the game was 15 meters. But this Titan...was 50 meters tall.

"Greetings, players. I, the Creator of this game, hope you are enjoying it", the Titan spoke. Eren froze, he recognized the voice as, indeed, the creator's.

"What the hell?! Why can't we log out?!", a Solider named Reiner demanded.

"To make the debut of my genius game so much more exciting, I've disabled all Logout options", the Titan explained.

"So you're keeping us here, against our wills?!", Eren yelled.

"Correct. The only way you can escape, is to beat all 100 floors", replied the titan. "All 100?!", the female Titan, called Annie asked.

"That's fucking impossible!", a Solider called Jean said.

"No one has even beat Floor 1!", added Krista, a royal, standing with her boyfriend, who appeared to be a prince.

"This is insane!", added Sasha, a Solider.

"It is your choice, players. Defeat the game and return to reality, or perish in the game", the Titan said.

"What the hell do you mean by perish in the game?! It's just a game!", Eren yelled.

The Titan grinned. Suddenly, mirrors appeared in thin air in front of every single player. Eren blinked, looking in his.

Suddenly, each player transformed. Eren blinked, his head spinning. But then he saw it, instead of his Titan character, he was his real self.

He looked like his real self. Everyone else did too. Armin now wore a white sweater, pants and, comically, a orange duvet with kitties on it.

He had blonde hair and ice blue eyes. "We're...our real selves...", Armin realized.

"You're a girl?!", Krista yelled at her boyfriend, who was in fact a girl called Ymir. "I'm so sorry, Krista!", cried Ymir.

"Its not just your appreances that have become real. The game has become...very real. You will now feel pain, cold, heat, hunger, thirst, and all the real life human body senses. If you want to survive, you must keep health potions at all times. A delay of a health potion for any injury, will result in your HP bar gradually going down. If you do not eat or drink for long periods of time, your HP bar will slowly decrease", the titan explained.

"And what happens is we lose all HP?", asked Annie, now a human with blue eyes and longer blonde hair.

"You die. And if you die in the game, you die in real life", replied the titan.

"Yeah?! Well what about if our parents remove our headgear?!", demanded Jean.

The titan suddenly laughed, a sick laugh.

"What headgear?", he asked. They all blinked, confused. "As soon as you entered the game...you, quite literally...ENTERED the game", the titan growled.

"What...?", Eren starred, horrified. "Your bodies. Your REAL human bodies are in the game. Not in the reality anymore. You're not pixels. You are real people. Capable of bleeding, and many other things", the titan replied.

"So what happens to our bodies?! If we die or escape?!", demanded Marco, a player standing near Jean.

"If you die, your corpse is transported back to the reality. For your parents to find. If you live, your body is transported back, alive and well, with anything you made in the game", the titan replied.

"Made in the game? What does that even mean?", Armin asked.

"You're lying! I bet you're not even the creator!", Reiner accused then. "I'm not. Look at all these news articles popping up", 3D screens appeared, of Internet news sites.

One ariticle was called "Japan's Newest game responsible for 600, 000 people missing?"

Another said "500 bodies turn up after missing"

"Bodies...?", Armin shuddered. His heart sunk, and he suddenly wasn't able to keep from vomiting. He had nearly been killed all those times.

He could have been killed...for real. Eren's heart sunk, a game player is unable to vomit. But Armin was...throwing up.

"That's right, 500 players have already died", replied the titan.

This was no lie. Eren then took a pocket knife out of his jeans, he cut his hand. He instantly winced, feeling a sharp pain in his hand.

He shook, gritting his teeth seeing beads of blood appear.

"Defeat all 100 floors. Or die. It's your choice", the titan then vanished, and the red wall that covered the sky vanished as well.

Eren's heart pounded, his eyes full of terror as it fully sunk in. This was real. He was trapped in the game.

And could be killed at any second. They all could. Players began to panic. Eren clenched his fists. He had to get out.

He had to escape. He instantly turned, hurrying out of the courtyard. Armin blinked weakly, seeing. "Eren!", he followed him through the panicked crowd.

Eren stormed through the city buildings, it was night at this point. He couldn't work with anyone. He had to return, alone.

He didn't want to grow attached to anyone in this game, if he was just going to watch them die. He had to do this solo.

"I have to train...train hard. To beat these floors...", Eren growled as he walked.

"Eren! Wait!", Armin chased him. Eren glanced behind him, stopping. "Armin...", he said, surprised.

"Look...", Armin panted, out of breath. "Maybe...we should stick together? If it's as dangerous as he says, we can't work alone", he explained.

"Sorry...", Eren looked away. Armin blinked. "I'll pass. I'd rather do this alone", Eren replied, a bit coldly.

"Don't be so cold...you'll never survive", Armin said, fearfully.

"I said I'll pass. Take care, Armin", Eren sprinted off then.

'I'm sorry Armin...!', he though as he ran. He ran into the forest. He had no choice but to do this alone. He had to get back to his parents as fast as possible.

He drew a sword he took from the village as he ran through the forest. Suddenly he heard a low snarl in the distance.

Eren glared, holding his sword up. Ten wolves surrounded him. But they weren't normal wolves. They were mutants.

They all had saber fangs, abnormally large claws, three golden eyes with tiny pupils, and horns growing from their heads. All were brown or black or gray.

Eren glared, standing his ground as the wolves surrounded him.

"Come on!", he yelled, angrily. The brown wolf leaped at him, drool flying out of its mouth.

Eren swung his sword, and managed to slash it. The wolf collapsed dead. The other wolves howled angrily, and all leaped at him at once.

"Shit!", Eren gritted his teeth as he slashed at them, he managed to kill 3 more, when suddenly the Alpha tackled him.

A huge black wolf bit the sword, and threw it to the side. Eren backed up against a rock, his heart pounding.

The wolf snarled, an acid like drool pouring from its mouth.

It snarled, and just as it leaped to attack Eren, another player ran over, and stabbed the leader's right through its middle.

Eren's eyes grew wide in shock, as the wolf hit the ground, dead.

The player landed, still holding the bloody sword. Eren starred at her, as the wind suddenly breezed. The girl stood up, she wore a green cloak.

The wind breezed the hood off, revealing her face. She had short, but feminine black hair, and pale ivory skin.

Her dark blackish blue eyes said she was Japanese. She looked at be Eren's age. She looked at Eren, as the clouds moved off the full moon.

The light from the moon reflected over her, she looked so beautiful as she held the bloody sword still. The wind breezed through her raven black hair, as her dark eyes starred at Eren.


	2. Training

_Level Two: Training_

The girl continued starring at Eren, as the moon reflected over her. Eren starred back, in shock. He had almost been killed...and this girl saved him.

Just then, a gray wolf leaped at the girl from behind. The girl glared, she turned and slashed the wolf's head clean off. The wolf's head and body hit the ground, as blood poured out.

'Incredible...', Eren starred, in amazement. Five more wolves leaped at the girl, and she killed each one flawlessly.

'That's...insane. Her HP...its way higher than mine! It's at 3000!", Eren noticed, shocked. His was only 400.

Just then six more wolves circled her. The girl glared, she then used 3DM gear, and flew up off the ground.

She then spun back down, at amazing speed, slashing all six wolves in the circle, blood splashing out. She had required special items like 3DM gear, and razor sharp blades.

Two more wolves leaped at her. The girl threw her green cloak at them, to blind them. She then slashed at both of them.

She wore a dark blue sailor school uniform. Eren starred, as more wind breezed through. He couldn't believe how strong she was.

And she was just a beginner, like him.

He also realized...it was the same girl he saw in line. The girl landed, as both wolf bodies hit the ground alongside her.

She glared, looking around. Seeing no more, she put her blades away.

"What are you doing out here? You only have 400 HP, and no health potions. Are you suicidal?", she asked, looking at Eren now.

"I...hey! I know you...you were that girl!", Eren said, as he got up. "My name is Mikasa...", she said simply.

"Mikasa...I'm Eren. That was...incredible", Eren said, still in awe. Mikasa didn't say anything, when suddenly out of no where, a giant mutanted black wolf leaped out at her.

Mikasa glared, she went to draw her blade, but the wolf moved too fast. It tackled her to the ground.

"Mikasa!", Eren panicked, he went to run over but didn't see his sword anywhere.

"Shit...where is it?!", as he looked frantically, the wolf was biting Mikasa's blade, as she used it as a shield.

She struggled glaring, but the wolf's teeth were only inches from her throat. Eren saw no sign of his sword, he then saw a rock.

"Better than nothing...!", he hurried over to grab it. Mikasa glared, and managed to kick the wolf in the stomach, but the animal instantly came back, and bit her arm.

Mikasa cried out in pain, as the wolf mangled her arm, blood appearing.

Eren grabbed the rock, and ran over as fast as he could.

"GET OFF HER!", Eren threw the rock at the wolf, hitting it on the head. The wolf let go of Mikasa's now wounded arm, and snarled at Eren.

Mikasa gritted her teeth in pain, closing her eyes tightly, clutching her arm. The pain was so very real. It burned, bad.

It felt like her whole arm was set on fire. The wound was deep and gruesome.

The wolf snarled, walking towards Eren. Eren stepped back, and then noticed a glimmer under some leaves.

His sword. Eren made a quick move towards it, as the wolf suddenly leaped at him, snarling madly.

Eren landed on the ground, and held his sword up. The wolf leaped on Eren, but the sword stabbed into the animals' stomach, stopping his attack.

Mikasa watched, shocked. Blood spilled down the blade, as Eren froze, terrified. He then sighed in relief, and pushed the now dead animal off his sword.

He caught his breath, and then got up. "Mikasa...!", he hurried over to her side. Mikasa was clutching her arm, and it was clear she was in pain.

She was pale now, and trembling. "Let me see it", Eren said, worriedly as he knelt down.

Mikasa slowly showed her wound. It was bad. Eren looked at her HP bar, it lost about 20, but that wasn't the real problem.

Her green bar, was flashing purple. And she kept losing 5 HP every few seconds.

"Shit...it was poisoned!", Eren growled, panicked. "There's an antidote...its in the next town...", Mikasa said, as she breathed a bit heavier.

She could already feel the effects of the poison in her system. She felt feverish, sick and was feeling weaker by the minute.

She also was beginning to sweat.

"How far is the next town?", demanded Eren, scared. "It's...not too far. It's East...", replied Mikasa, breathlessly.

Eren panicked, he didn't have a Teleporting item, and it didn't seem like Mikasa did either. Neither had health potions or antidotes.

Walking there...it would be too late. Mikasa suddenly got up, her knees a bit shaky. "Whoa, Mikasa! Stay down!", Eren said, fearfully.

"I can't afford to waste time like this...I won't die here", Mikasa said, shakily as she tried to walk. But the more she moved, the faster her HP dropped.

"Wait!", Eren stopped her. "You can't be moving around, if you do you'll only die faster!", he said, worriedly.

"Then what do you suggest...?", Mikasa asked, looking worse. She was dripping with sweat now, and looked very weak.

"Look, let me carry you!", Eren insisted. He hardly knew this girl, but she saved his life. He wasn't going to let her die here.

"I can get there myself...", Mikasa said stubbornly, but as soon as she went to walk, the fever got worse. She held her hand to her head, feeling dizzy.

Everything seemed to go black for her, as she fell unconscious.

"Mikasa!", Eren caught her before she hit the ground. She was breathing unevenly, soaked in sweat. Her face felt very hot.

"She's in trouble...I have to get her antidote, and fast", Eren gritted his teeth, seeing her HP bar drop more. He then lifted her up, carrying her on his back.

He wasn't sure how far this town was, all he knew is that it was East. As he walked, he pulled up the World Map.

They were currently in the town called Shiganshina. The town towards the East, that was closest was called Maria.

"Maria...okay. It's not too far", Eren closed his screen as he continued walking. He glanced at Mikasa, worried.

"Hang in there, we'll be there before morning", he said softly. He wasn't even sure himself why he cared so much for this girl.

It wasn't just the fact she saved his life, and he owed it to her. But..something about her. Seemed different. He couldn't explain it.

He just knew he had to save her.

After walking for 2 hours, Mikasa's HP was now halfway dropped. She was shivering now. Eren blinked, noticing.

He stopped. He knew he had to get her antidote, but she needed some care now. She was really sick.

He gently set her down, as she leaned limply against the tree.

She opened her eyes halfway, weakly. Her eyelids felt heavy as led.

"Easy, just rest", Eren had some items in his inventory. One was a washcloth. They were right by a river. He got it wet, the water very cool.

He then dabbed her soaked forehead. Her face felt so hot from the fever. "Just try and hang in there, we're almost at Maria", Eren assured her.

He dabbed her forehead more, her face was so warm, and she continued sweating from the fever.

Mikasa shivered. She felt so cold, like she was in an ice cave. She felt freezing. "So cold...", she whispered, weakly.

Eren blinked. "You feel cold? Hold on...I got something", Eren was wearing a red scarf. He then unwrapped it, and quickly wrapped it around her neck.

Mikasa blinked weakly, a tiny sparkle of life returning to her dark eyes.

"Here...this will keep you a little warm until we get there", Eren assured. Mikasa looked at him weakly. "T-Thank you..", she said. The scarf felt so warm.

"Okay, let's keep going", Eren lifted her back up on his back, and continued walking. Mikasa was limp at this point, the poison making her weaker and weaker.

After walking for another hour, the town was finally in sight. "Almost there...Mikasa? Hang on, okay?", Eren said worriedly, his heart sunk. Her HP was in the orange zone now, almost down to red.

He hurried into town, still carrying her.

The town was dead quiet. All the other players were still in Shiganshina, panicking. Maria was dead quiet, the only people there were the In Game people.

Fake people, made for the game. Villagers, store owners, etc. The town had an Inn to sleep in, a few Restaurants, and a Shop for supplies.

Eren hurried over to the Supplies shop. He looked through the list, and finally saw it. Antidote.

"I'll take 1 Antidote and 4 Health potions!", he said. "That'll be 18 gems", the store owner replied. Eren quickly paid, and got the items.

He then quickly left the stand. He gently set Mikasa down again, as she leaned against a tree.

Eren then opened the Antidote vial, and helped her drink it. Mikasa grimaced from the bitter taste, but drank the whole thing.

As soon as she did, the purple light instantly stopped flashing, and color returned to her cheeks.

She stopped sweating, the fever gone. "Okay, now to heal your wound", Eren helped her drink a health potion next.

As soon as she drank it all, her wound healed. Eren watched, shocked to see it completely close and vanish. It left only a tiny scar, and her sleeve was still ripped.

Mikasa felt her energy return, as she opened her eyes more. Her HP bar was filled back up to green.

"E-Eren...?", she said, weakly.

"Hey...wow Mikasa, you're really tough. You held out. I was scared we wouldn't make it...", Eren sighed in relief.

"You...carried me here? All the way from Shiganshina?", asked Mikasa, she sat up, looking more alert, her strength fully returned.

"I couldn't just leave you there to die", Eren said. Mikasa looked at him. She looked down softly, holding a piece of the scarf.

"You're feeling okay, right?", asked Eren, worried. "Yeah. I feel fine...thank you. Could I..", Mikasa looked away.

"Hm?", asked Eren. "Could I...keep this scarf?", she asked a little shyly. Eren smiled. "Sure, go ahead", he replied.

Mikasa looked at him, she smiled. Eren's heart skipped a beat, she had such a beautiful smile.

"So...I have to ask. How on earth did you get so much HP so quick?", Eren asked, curious.

"Well...", Mikasa started to answer, when her stomach suddenly growled. "Sorry...!", she blushed cutely.

"It's fine, mine was growling earlier", Eren assured. He then looked worried. That's right...its real. If they don't eat in this game, they die.

"Let's get some food. We'll talk over dinner", Eren decided. Mikasa nodded, the two got up and went into the restaurant.

"It feels weird being the only two people in a restaurant", Mikasa admitted, as the two got their food. The setup for eating food in the game was, it was all displayed on a fancy buffet table.

It had a large variety of food. Fried chicken, steak, seafood, ribs, fish and chips, burgers, vegetables, fruit, rice, stew, and even desserts.

Desserts included rice balls, apple pie, muffins, ice cream and even eclairs.

Drinks included water, milk, orange juice, apple juice, soda and even coffee and tea.

"I'm shocked by the large varity", admitted Mikasa, while Eren drooled. "This tells me the game creator really does not want any of us to starve to death...", Eren said then, turning serious again.

"What do you mean?", asked Mikasa. They got their dinner, dessert and drinks. Both were starving, having not eaten all night.

It was already 2 AM.

"What I mean is...he supplies this much food in every restaurant in each town", Eren replied as he looked at the Game guide on his screen.

Mikasa blinked as she ate, she had a more Japanese type meal. A bowl of warm rice, cooked fish, stew, two muffins, and hot tea.

Eren had fried chicken, french fries, an apple, ice cream and soda. Their eating habit difference was quiet obvious. Eren enjoyed less healthy food while Mikasa ate very healthy.

"Think about it. He sets this whole thing up for us to die. And yet...he supplies this much food. I have no idea what his plans are, but one thing is obvious. He doesn't want a whole bunch of us to die. Otherwise, he could have made food sources much harder", Eren explained.

"You're right...its strange he's making food source so easy to get too", Mikasa agreed, as she ate some rice with chopsticks.

"Mikasa...I have to ask again. How did you get your HP up so high? Were you like...a Beta tester?", he asked.

Mikasa shook her head as she ate. "No, I'm no fan of games. I..well", Mikasa looked down, as she set her chopsticks down.

There was a very grim look in her eyes, a sad look. Eren looked at her, worried. "Hey, its okay. We'll eat then we'll talk", he assured her.

Mikasa simply nodded, as she started eating again.

Eren ate as well, and after they finished, they went to stay in the inn to sleep. Just like the creator said, they felt hunger, pain, heat, cold and even exhaustion.

The room they stayed in was dimly lit and had two soft futons on the floor.

Mikasa got into hers, still feeling a little chilly. "A futon...", Eren commented, looking bugged. Mikasa blinked.

"What's wrong?", she asked.

"I never slept on a futon before, just a bed...", Eren explained. "You'll get used to it", Mikasa assured.

Eren sat down on his. "About my HP...", Mikasa said then. Eren looked at her, listening, very curious.

"I think I should start at the beginning. My classmate, Kaori. She was so excited for this game. She begged me I come with her, and we play it together", Mikasa said.

"Um...what happened to your friend...?", Eren asked. "She's dead. She was killed by a Mutated bear", replied Mikasa.

She didn't seem all that torn up about it. Eren blinked. "You don't sound that upset...", he commented.

"We weren't really friends. She was annoying, and never was there for me when I needed her. And now...it's her fault I'm stuck here...", Mikasa cringed as she said this.

Eren looked at her worriedly, as she shook. "I shouldn't _be_ here. This isn't where I...I need to be home. With my mother...she needs me. She's all alone...", cried Mikasa, as tears welled up in her eyes.

"H-Hey...don't cry! Here...", Eren gave her a handkerchief. Mikasa took it, her tears wetting it. "Thanks...anyway I...my father works a lot. And so I take care of my mother", Mikasa explained tearfully.

"Is your mother sick?", asked Eren, worried. "She's very sick. Her health has always been poor, even before I was born", Mikasa explained.

"So that's why...you raised your HP fast, since you want to get home to her as fast as possible", Eren realized.

Mikasa nodded. "She's so sick...she's always getting a fever. And I'm not there...to make sure she has her medicine...by the time my father gets home she could...", Mikasa choked back a sob, shook.

"Mikasa...", Eren looked at her worriedly. He hesitated, since they first met, but he suddenly pulled her close into a hug.

Mikasa blinked tearfully, surprised.

"I'm sorry. You got so much on your plate...Mikasa, we'll get out of here. We'll go home...together", he soothed her. He stroked her raven black hair softly.

Mikasa's heart skipped a beat, he was so kind. She nodded tearfully, and buried her face in his shirt, as her tears fell.

"But...how? How will we get out? I hear no one has beaten floor 1", Mikasa asked as she slowly calmed down.

"I know. But there has to be a way to do it. My parents are worried sick, I know it. Tomorrow we'll figure it all out", Eren decided.

Mikasa nodded softly, she lay down in her futon. Eren lay down as well, turning the light off.

Neither slept very good. Daylight came before they knew it. "So what's the plan?", asked Mikasa. "Right now, the only plan I have is to train. Train hard", Eren replied.

"How did you get your XP up? Any specific creatures you fought?", asked Eren.

Mikasa shook her head. "No. It was just sheer determination", she admitted. "We'll start by killing creatures...but there has to be some other way to make us stronger", Eren said.

Mikasa looked down. "There could be one way", she said. "What?", asked Eren, anxious.

"If we're really humans, like he said. And not just pixel characters. We could train more than just our XP points. We could...really train for our bodies to become stronger. I wonder if we do that, it may not raise our experience, but it will raise our defense", Mikasa explained.

"That's just crazy enough to work...okay. We start training today", Eren said.

The two went out to the field, and instantly encountered a bunch of mutated brown bears. The bears were ten times larger than a normal bear, and had four bug like eyes, saber fangs, and heavily muscles arms.

Mikasa ran at them first, she glared drawing her sword. Eren followed. Mikasa leaped up, and slashed the bear's middle, clean in half.

Blood sprayed out on her, as she went right between both parts of the cut in half body, and went right for the next one.

Eren followed, as he slashed two bears in a row. Mikasa slashed the next bear's head off. She then glared, seeing one with extremely heavy muscles.

Eren slashed the head off of another bear, blood splashing out. He then saw Mikasa sprint at the heavily muscled one, and she slashed right where his muscle was the strongest.

"Mikasa!", Eren yelled worriedly, not understanding at first. Mikasa gritted her teeth, as she pressed the blade extremely hard against the tough muscle.

"Why is she making it more hard for herself...?! Why isn't she attacking a more weak area...?!", Eren then blinked, understanding.

She was training her own body and muscles.

Mikasa glared, she closed her eyes tightly, as she used all her strength. Suddenly, the blade cut right through the tough muscle.

The bear roared in pain as blood sprayed out.

Mikasa landed, as she panted. She used all her strength to cut through that. She needed to catch her breath, as sweat dripped from her forehead.

"Rest! I'll cover you!", Eren yelled, urgently. He leaped up at the bear Mikasa had wounded, and sliced its head off.

Mikasa nodded, breathing deeply. After a few minutes of just Eren killing, Mikasa got right back up. She glared then, seeing the leader bear.

It was even larger, and its four eyes glowed red. It's skull was exposed in a gruesome way, and was covered in scars.

Battle scars. "Eren. If you kill a Leader, you get a 3DM gear", Mikasa said. "What?! You killed one of these before?!", gawked Eren.

Mikasa nodded, she then used her gear. The cables shot into the trees, and she flew right at the bear.

She glared, and swung around it. Eren glared, he ran at the bear, sword raised. He slashed the bear's legs. The creature roared, falling to its knees.

Mikasa spun around, and slashed the back of the bear's neck with both blades with amazing force.

The head came clean off, as blood sprayed out all over Mikasa's clothes and face.

She landed next to Eren, as they both caught their breath. Eren saw his HP had increased to 1000. Mikasa's to 3220.

"You didn't get hurt did you?", asked Eren, panting. Mikasa shook her head. "You?", she asked.

"I'm good", assured Eren. They both realized, they'd have to train like this. For weeks, at least. In order to be strong enough.


	3. Wings of Freedom

_Level Three:_

 _Wings of Freedom_

"This is hopeless Eren...we've been training for four months and still have no idea where the first boss is", Mikasa sighed.

It was evening. The two were at a hot spring to take a bath. They were still dressed, not in yet. "It's not hopeless Mikasa, we both knew this was going to take some time", Eren assured her.

They had different clothes at this point. Eren wore a black coat, and had 3DM gear now. Mikasa wore a casual light pink dress with a red jacket.

She still had her gear though. She wore more feminine clothes since she had become self conscious recently about her body, although Eren didn't know why.

They had been training for four months. While they leveled up plenty and were beyond ready to beat floor 1, they still had no leads where the boss was.

2000 other players have died already in the course of those four months.

"I heard other players are having a meeting tomorrow, about finding and beating the first boss. We'll see if there's any leads there", Eren decided.

Mikasa nodded softly, as she removed her red scarf. "You can bathe first", Eren offered. "Okay...", Mikasa then started to remove her dress.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Mikasa!", Eren yelled, covering his eyes. "What? I have my bra and underwear on", Mikasa said.

She didn't seem to mind Eren seeing her half naked. Eren blinked, and his jaw nearly dropped, seeing her. Now he understood why she was self conscious.

Her entire body was heavily muscled, she even had a six pack of abs. But...she was beautiful. No, gorgeous.

She wore a black bra, her breasts were clearly a C cup shape. Eren blushed, unsure what to say. Mikasa blushed as well.

"What...?", she asked, nervously. "U-Uh nothing! You're just...really beautiful...", Eren panicked, looking away.

He was expecting her to get mad or act overly embarrassed. But she didn't. Mikasa blushed. She looked down.

"I...I'm not that beautiful...", she said, softly. Eren looked at her, she really was cute.

"No, it's true! I'm not lying. You're...really beautiful", Eren mused, looking at her.

But he wasn't a pervert. He wasn't just amazed by her body. Her eyes reminded him of the night sky, and her raven black hair was also pretty.

The two obviously had a crush on each other at this point, but both were too shy to say anything.

Mikasa blushed more, not saying anything. "Well...I'll get my bath first", she said finally. "Y-Yeah, take your time", Eren said.

Mikasa nodded, she got into the hot spring while Eren waited behind the bushes. Mikasa had removed the rest of her clothes, and sat down in the warm water.

She exhaled softly, the water felt so good on her body. She continued to blush, at what Eren said to her.

He said she was...beautiful. And she could see it in his eyes that he meant it. Mikasa closed her eyes softly, her heart racing still.

She then blinked, hearing rustling in the bushes. She glared, her sword was right near the hot spring.

She waited, when suddenly a figure appeared out of the bushes. Mikasa grabbed her sword, before she attacked, she saw it was a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.

He blinked, and suddenly panicked.

"Oh...crap! Ah...I wasn't watching you! I swear I...!", he panicked. "Why you little pervert!", Mikasa growled dangerously, she nearly attacked him, Armin yelling fearfully.

"What's going on?!", Eren ran over. Mikasa turned red, quickly grabbing a towel.

"This peeping tom, that's what!", she replied. Eren blinked. "Armin?", he asked, shocked. Armin blinked. "Eren?! Whoa, is that you?!", he asked.

"You know each other?", asked Mikasa, glaring. "You bet! We met on the first day. Don't worry, Armin is no peeping tom", Eren assured her.

"Really?", Mikasa glared. "Does he honestly look like one?", asked Eren. Mikasa blinked, looking back at Armin.

He still had his kitten duvet. Mikasa sighed. He really didn't look like any pervert. If anything, he looked like a little kid.

Armin and Eren went back over to the camp fire to let Mikasa bathe in peace.

"I was surprised...I thought you were going through this solo, and here you have a girlfriend", Armin admitted.

Eren turned red. "She's not my girlfriend!", he defended. "Really? She seems real comfortable with you near when she's in the bath", Armin pointed out.

"Look...we sorta ran into each other that same night I took off, she saved my life...and then I saved her. So we stick together now...", Eren explained.

"I see...", Armin said. "So..what's her story?", asked Armin curiously. "Well...", Eren started to explain.

Mikasa remained in the bath for a while, she washed her hair. She then blinked softly, seeing a Sakura petal fall from the tree behind her.

It fell on the water perfectly.

"I see...so that's what it is", Armin said, as Eren finished telling him.

"She's really worried about her mother. So she's eager to get back. We all are, but she is especially. I'm sure there's other players who have unhealthy parents as well, there's so many of us", Eren said.

"I noticed how high her HP is...it's at 6000. And yours is already 5982. Are you both going to try and beat the first boss?", asked Armin.

"That's the plan. Tomorrow players are having a meeting about it. You want to come?", asked Eren. Armin looked down.

"I'm still weak. I've been spending this whole time running and trying to survive. But...I've realized my parents miss me. I need to stop only thinking for myself...I'll join", Armin decided.

His HP was only 800, he was a lot weaker than them. But he was determined.

"Armin...I'm sorry I left you alone before. Mikasa taught me...we're in this together. I didn't want to team up with anyone because..I didn't want to lose them. But if we're strong and we fight together, we'll get out of here", Eren said.

"It's fine", Armin assured. Mikasa came over, in her sleepwear. "So you're Armin", she said, as she sat down by the fire. She shivered a bit. Even though the spring was hot, once she got out the air was cold.

She wrapped her red scarf around her neck.

"Yeah..sorry again about that", Armin apologized. "It's fine...", Mikasa blinked. "What?", asked Armin, noticing her starring.

"Your HP isn't that high. You need to train a lot harder to survive", she commented. "Yeah I know...", Armin admitted.

"Eren, you can get in the bath next", Mikasa said. "Right...thanks Mikasa", Eren got a blanket, and placed it around her shoulders. Mikasa blushed a little bit.

She held her hands close to the fire, cold.

After Eren and Armin finished their baths, they sat around the fire with Mikasa. "So do you know any of the players that will be at this meeting?", asked Armin.

"No..", replied Eren. "I wonder if...she'll be there", Mikasa said softly. Eren blinked.

"Who?", he asked. Mikasa looked down. "I have a friend. She...well, we were online friends. We talked over the internet. She lives in Scotland", Mikasa explained.

"Wait...did she log on as well?", asked Eren anxiously. "I'm not sure. I know she bought the game...", replied Mikasa worriedly.

"I'm not even sure if she's still alive. I just...hope she's safe in the real world", Mikasa said. "It sounds like you're close with her", Armin noticed.

"Rubi's like the older sister I never had", admitted Mikasa. "You never met in real life...but you're that close?", asked Eren.

Mikasa nodded. "She's always so supportive. She had dreams...like wanting to become a doctor or a midwife. I...really hope she's okay", Mikasa said sadly.

Eren gently rubbed her shoulder to comfort her. Mikasa closed her eyes, soothed by his touch.

"Let's get some sleep, we leave early", Eren said. Eren lay down on the ground near the fire. Armin lay his kitten duvet out, sleeping on it.

Mikasa slept near Eren. The only sound was the fire crackling.

Mikasa opened her eyes softly, seeing Eren sleep. She hesitated, and then shifted closer to him. He didn't stir.

Mikasa looked down, she then moved closer, and cuddled against him. Eren blinked softly, seeing. He smiled, and gave her most of his blanket.

Morning soon arrived, and the trio walked to the next town, where the meeting would take place.

To their surprise, there were several players there. Eren even recognized some of them.

Jean, Connie, Sasha, Krista, Ymir, and a few others. But there was one player there he didn't know.

"Who's that?", asked Mikasa. The player had black hair, and was also Japanese like Mikasa. He wore a green cloak, and a strange symbol on his jacket.

It looked like two wings.

"I think I know who that is...", started Armin. Eren blinked, noticing the player's HP. "WHAT?!", he gawked.

Mikasa looked, and her eyes grew wide. The player's HP was at 7000. Higher than Mikasa's. "No doubt..that's Levi", Armin realized.

"Who?", asked Mikasa.

"Levi is rumored to be the strongest player in the entire game. He's unbeatable", replied Armin. Eren starred, in shock. He didn't think anyone could be stronger than Mikasa.

"Looks like Levi is the one who called on this meeting", Mikasa noticed. "Let's go see what he has planned", Eren, Mikasa and Armin sat with the others.

Levi stood, facing them, along with some other players who all wore the same symbol. Two girls and the rest were guys.

"There are more players interested than I expected!", said Hange excitedly. "It's certainly a good sign", added Petra.

"Listen up. I think it's about time, we as players beat floor 1", Levi spoke up. "One problem hotshot, no one has been able to even find floor 1", Jean said.

"No one...except for me", Levi shot back. Eren blinked. "You found floor 1?!", asked Mikasa, anxiously.

"I did. The boss is a 8 meter titan. It's most deadly weapons are its fangs. It will not hesitate to devour you", replied Levi.

"So where is it?!", asked Armin, urgently. "It's in Maria. Hidden. You need a special key to enter the North cave in the forest. A key which I obtained", Levi replied.

Eren glared a bit. They wouldn't be able to get to Floor 1 boss without him.

"But before we jump in, I'm giving you all a choice. There's Three different groups", Levi said. "Groups?", blinked Mikasa.

"To keep panicked players more organized...we assembled three groups", replied Levi.

"Each group has a different objective", added Petra. "So what are these groups?", asked Eren.

"Group One, is the Military Police. Their job is to make sure no players break any rules or laws. Such as killing other players. The MP has no intention of returning to the real world", Hange explained.

Eren blinked, seeing the group with the MP symbol on their jackets. One of them was Annie.

"Why would there be some players who don't want to escape...?", asked Armin, shocked. "Perhaps they weren't happy with their real life", said Mikasa.

"Second, is the Garrison. These players decide to sacrifice their path to escape the game, and stay behind to protect scared and confused players, many who are still in denial of the current situation", Hange went on.

"Still in denial?", Eren asked, shocked. Hange looked up to the Garrison players. Mikasa's heart sunk, seeing many of the players they protected...were little kids.

"That's horrible...they're so young", cried Mikasa. "It's...so kind of those players to stay behind with them", Armin said, amazed.

"And the third and final group...The Scouts. Or a more fancier name, The Wings of Freedom", Hange said.

"That would be our group", Levi spoke up. "The Scouts dedicate their lives to beating all 100 floors and escaping once and for all", explained Petra.

"As you noticed though, we don't have near enough Scouts", Hange said.

"There's only six of them...", Eren realized, seeing. "So, who is willing to join us?", asked Levi.

""Do you really have the key? To the first boss?", asked Eren anxiously. Levi nodded.

"Then...we're in!", Eren replied. Mikasa nodded, so did Armin. "Good. Anyone else?", asked Hange.

Jean raised his hand. "I'm in...I lost my best friend recently. Marco...I want to be strong. And escape this hell hole", he said.

"We're in too", Ymir said, as Krista nodded. "Don't forget us! I want out of here!", Connie added. "I'll never play a game again after we escape!", agreed Sasha.

"Good, then we have 14 players total", Levi said. "15", a voice spoke then. Mikasa blinked, just noticing another player sitting near them.

She had been quiet the entire time. "And you are?", asked Levi. "Rubi Zacri, 1000 HP", replied the girl. Mikasa's eyes grew wide.

She stood up. "Rubi?!", she cried. Rubi blinked, looking towards their way. Her eyes grew just as wide, she even gasped.

"M-Mikasa?! Little sis, is that you?!", she cried, hurrying over.

"It is...you're okay! Thank goodness!", Mikasa cried.

"I can't believe it...you're really here!", Rubi couldn't believe it. "I'm so glad...Rubi, I thought you might have...", the girls embraced tightly then.

Eren smiled, happy for them. "So that's Rubi...", Armin said, he blushed a bit. Rubi had long dark red hair she kept up in a ponytail, and brown eyes. She was half British and half Scottish.

"Wait...I thought you weren't going to play the game?", asked Rubi as the girls broke apart.

"I wasn't...my classmate nagged me into it", replied Mikasa. "I'm just so glad you're okay...", Rubi said softly, as she gently stroked Mikasa's hair.

It was obvious the two were like sisters.

Rubi then blinked, seeing Eren and Armin. "Who are you two?", she asked.

"This is Eren. He...saved my life", Mikasa replied. "You? You saved my baby sis's life?", asked Rubi, looking grateful.

"Well..she saved my ass first from mutated wolves", Eren replied, scratching his head a bit modestly.

"And this is Armin, our friend", Mikasa added. Armin blushed a bit. Rubi blushed slightly as well at him.

"So...we'll all be joining the Wings of Freedom", Eren said.

The group joined Levi and his Squad in the Inn to plan everything. "The Titan boss, while is only 8 meters, moves extremely fast and relies on its fangs", Levi started.

"Have you seen it?", asked Eren. "I have. It's a demonic looking thing. It has long hair and red glowing eyes", replied Levi.

"So what's the plan?", asked Mikasa.

"It's important we attack in numbers. But because of this titan's speed, we have to corner it. Eren, you, Mikasa, Armin and Rubi will attack from the left", Levi replied.

"Connie, Sasha, Jean and Hange will attack from the right. Ymir and Krista will attack from behind, while myself and the rest will attack from the front", Levi explained.

"But before we leave, we must make sure we have enough health potions", Petra said.

"I got 8 Health potions, and two antidotes", Mikasa said. "I got 10 health potions", Eren added.

"I've got 40 health potions and 34 antidotes", Rubi spoke up. "40?!", they all gawked, surprised.

"I also have 4 rare tourniquets to decrease bleeding, 20 antibiotics for infection in case there's no instant health potion, 32 tonics, and 46 Pain medications", she went on.

"Well damn...", said Connie. "You're prepared", added Jean.

"I should have known...you always wanted to be a doctor", Mikasa said. "I figure if we're going to survive, we need plenty of supplies", Rubi explained.

"It's really smart", Armin said. Rubi blushed a bit at his compliment.

"Just how easy is it to reach the boss?", asked Eren. "The boss is located deep inside Maria Forest's cave. On the way will be several mutated wolves, snakes and other monsters", Levi replied.

Eren looked down a bit. This was it. They were finally going to beat Floor 1.

Sure they had 99 more to go after, but it was such a start.

"We'll leave tomorrow at first light. We need our rest tonight", Hange said.

Sleep...how did they expect Eren to sleep? He was too anxious for the battle. Eren shared an Inn room with Mikasa, Armin and Rubi.

"Tomorrow's the day...", Armin said nervously. "We just need to keep calm, and stay together", Mikasa said.

"Listen, Mikasa and me are stronger than you two. So we'll cover you as much as we can", Eren said.

Rubi looked down. "I'm older, I should be protecting Mikasa", she said, shaking a bit.

"You're still not strong enough. You will be soon, but for now, I'm okay", assured Mikasa.

"Let's try and get some sleep, we need it", Armin said.

Mikasa nodded. Rubi turned out the light. They each slept in a separate sleeping bag. But Mikasa moved closer to Eren.

Rubi blinked, seeing. Mikasa cuddled close to Eren, still wearing her red scarf. Eren wrapped his arm around her a bit to comfort her.

Rubi's eyes softened. "I understand...", she whispered. She was happy for her friend.

By the next morning, the Squad stood outside the cave. Mikasa stayed close to Eren and Rubi.

"Today, we will beat Floor 1. We WILL succeed", Levi said. "Its up to us..we have to fight", Hange added.

"I have one request", Levi said. Eren blinked. "For every single boss battle, for all 100 floors, you all must promise me something", he said.

"What?", blinked Eren. "There's no true guarantee we'll all make it out of this game. And so...promise to make a sacrifice, for someone else to escape. Give your hearts!", Levi yelled, he held his fist to his heart.

Eren, Mikasa and the rest did the same at once. "Give out hearts!", they repeated.

Levi walked up to the cave. There was indeed a keyhole in the stone. He inserted the key, and turned it. The giant rock blocking the entrance, vanished in thin air.

"We're in", Levi growled.

Eren glared, ready. They entered the dark cave.


	4. Defeating Boss 1

**Author's Note: So sorry for late updates guys!**

 _Level 4: Boss 1_

"Remember our plan", Levi said. The team walked through the dark cave. "We got plenty of health potions so we're fine", said Petra softly.

"We have to still be careful though. If you get injured enough, and your HP completely drops in one hit, you're dead. There's no revives in Sword Attack Online", Mikasa mentioned, she kept looking around for any sign of danger.

"Mikasa's right. We can't get reckless", Eren agreed.

"We'll be careful, but we won't run like pussies either", Jean said. "We're just saying, if things get too out of hand, we have to run", Armin said.

"It helps we know what it's main weapons are, if it's fast like Levi says, I'm assuming it's not very strong", added Rubi.

Mikasa then stopped, looking behind her.

"Mikasa? What is it?", asked Eren. Mikasa glared, she suddenly drew her sword.

Out of the darkness, leaped a mutated lion. It had 3 golden eyes, saber fangs, and a scorpio tail.

"What is that?!", cried Sasha, freaked. "It's a Manticore! Incredible!", Connie said, impressed.

The animal roared, and landed in front of them. "Careful! That tail end is poisonous! A lot more than the wolf's fangs!", Hanji alerted.

The lion roared violently, and then ran at them. Mikasa glared, she swung her sword and slashed its head clean off.

The lion's body collapsed, dead.

Everyone starred, in shock at how easy she made it look. "Amazing...", Armin gawked. "Sis, that was incredible", added Rubi.

"So...awesome", Jean blushed.

"You still got it", Eren grinned, not surprised. Mikasa blushed a bit at him, and put her sword away.

"I'm expecting other surprises, keep your eyes peeled", Levi said.

The team continued walking through the dark cave.

After walking for a while, Connie suddenly froze, turning white. "Connie? What's up?", asked Sasha.

"S-Something just...slid down my back...", Connie shivered.

Sasha blinked, lifting the back of his shirt up.

"EEK!", she jumped back. "What?!", Eren asked urgently, while Levi looked.

There was a lizard on Connie's back. "What is it?! Did it sting me?! Is my HP dropping?!", Connie panicked.

"It's just a lizard", Mikasa assured, she poked at it gently with her sword. The lizard stuck its tongue out, and then climbed on Mikasa's sword, and then leaped off, leaving.

"Oh...I forgot this game also has normal animals...", Connie sighed in relief.

"Normal, or not, slimy reptiles creep me out!", Sasha cried. "It's harmless, don't worry", assured Mikasa.

The game also had normal elk, deer, crocodiles, wolves, birds and mice. Their purpose in the game was merely for hunting.

They continued down the dark cave.

After fighting a couple mutated wolves, one mutated fox and a mutated snake, they finally made it all the way back.

The cave had several crystals all around, and there was some sunlight coming in from up top. Eren's eyes grew wide, seeing how HIGH the roof of this part of the cave was.

It was amazing. "Whoa..", mused Petra. "Keep alert", Levi growled, drawing his sword.

"Where is it?", asked Armin, his eyes darting around. "It's here...", Levi growled.

Eren looked around, but saw no sign of the titan. It seemed to be empty. Mikasa looked as well, she then noticed something.

It looked like..scratches on the cave wall, going high up.

"Levi...any chance this titan can climb?", asked Mikasa then. "What?!", Eren looked at her, alarmed.

Before Levi could answer, Rubi suddenly screamed. Everyone looked, and saw the titan boss. It climbed down the wall so fast, it looked like a spider.

Eren flinched back, it was extremely disturbing and creepy. It landed, and growled at them, still on all fours.

It's skin was more gray than tan, and its red eyes glowed.

"Split up! Like the plan said!", Levi ordered. The team all quickly split up in their groups.

Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Rubi surrounded at the right. The titan roared suddenly, and headed right for Levi and his squad.

"ATTACK!", ordered Levi urgently.

Mikasa engaged her gear at the same time as Eren, they both slashed at the titan. Rubi and Armin followed.

Connie, Sasha and all the rest followed, attacking from all angles. Levi flew right at the front, and slashed the titan's left eye out.

Blood splashed out, as the titan roared painfully.

"Attack its blind side!", ordered Levi. Mikasa slashed a deep wound in its side, while Eren slashed four of its fingers off.

Jean slashed the titan's shoulder, while Rubi slashed its face.

Petra and Levi's squad flew at the titan's front.

Petra glared, she then slashed at the titan's other eye, blinding it. "Good job, Petra!", yelled Levi. Petra blushed, she then glared and flew around.

"Remember, it's weak spot is its nape! Hit it, and it will be an instant kill!", yelled Levi.

Eren glared. "Instant kill..okay!", Eren flew right at the nape, but as soon as he raised his blades, the titan glared, and hit him hard with its hand.

The blow was powerful, Eren gritted his teeth, as he hit the cave wall hard. His back hurt bad from hitting it, as he collapsed to the ground.

"Eren!", Mikasa cried, she flew over to him, seeing his HP was in the yellow zone. Her heart sunk, as she flew over.

"Shit...", growled Eren, clutching his side. It felt like maybe his arm was broken, and his side hurt too.

"Don't try and move! Here...", Mikasa quickly gave him health potion.

Eren drank it quick, knowing they had no time to waste. His HP bar filled back up to green. "You okay?", asked Mikasa fearfully.

Her eyes didn't lie, she was terrified for him.

"Yeah, I'm good", assured Eren. Mikasa sighed in relief, placing her hand over her racing heart. Jean noticed this, glaring.

Petra flew around next to the nape. The titan glared at her, a deadly glare. It suddenly roared, and grabbed her.

It's fist tightened around her small body. Petra screamed in pain, her bones breaking from the strong grip. Her HP went down halfway.

"PETRA!", Levi froze, fearfully. Petra's heart sunk, as her eyes filled with horror. The titan glared, and suddenly bit her.

Her head, shoulders and chest were in its mouth.

Blood splashed out, as it ripped her upper half off, and devoured it. Levi's eyes grew wide in shock, everyone else froze, watching.

Eren's heart sunk, as he got up. "No...", cried Mikasa.

"It...it..ate her...", Armin stammered, fearfully while Rubi felt her stomach heave, and she nearly threw up. She turned white.

Petra's HP dropped all the way down, she was dead. Her HP bar vanished, and so did her body.

"NO!", Levi yelled dangerously, as he flew at the titan. Behind him were Hanji, Eld, Gunther and Oluo.

Eren glared, he engaged his gear, flying up as well.

The titan roared, and suddenly leaped. "It jumps?!", Rubi cried. Mikasa glared, she followed it, as the titan ran up the walls fast.

Mikasa flew faster at it, Levi, Eren and the rest right behind her.

Levi flew passed her then, with Hanji, Eld, Gunther and Oluo. The titan snarled, and suddenly hit Eld, Gunther and Oluo with amazing force.

They all screamed, falling to the ground. It was a 80 foot drop. Their bodies hit the ground hard then.

Levi watched anxiously, and once the smoke cleared, his heart sunk.

All three were dead. Their HP bars, dropped completely. They vanished, along with their bodies.

"This can't be real...", Sasha cried.

Eren glared then. "We can't let anyone else die!", he yelled. He flew at the titan. "Eren!", Mikasa followed.

Levi glared, dangerously. He followed next. All three surrounded the titan. Mikasa slashed the titan's middle, while Eren slashed its legs.

Levi glared, and then slashed its nape. Blood sprayed out all over his clothes, as the titan boss froze.

It roared, and suddenly it exploded, defeated.

They all landed. Mikasa caught her breath, so did Eren. Levi landed, not saying anything.

"We...we did it?", Jean asked, taken aback. "It vanished...", said Connie.

Armin then blinked, seeing on his game panel. They all got it at once. A message saying: CONGRAULATIONS, YOU HAVE CLEARED FLOOR ONE

"We actually did it...", cried Rubi. Eren starred, in shock. They did it. They beat Floor 1.

It _was_ possible to beat this game.

Levi stood up, he hid his emotions about Petra. "Levi...", said Hanji worriedly.

"We WON! This day belongs to us players!", he yelled. Everyone hesitated at first, not wanting to celebrate when his friends were killed.

"You heard me! Its time to celebrate!", Levi urged.

All the players cheered then, unable to hold it back, it was really a victory. Not only did they clear floor one, but now they knew for sure...it was possible to beat this game.

It was possible to escape, and get back home. "We did it! Mikasa, we beat it!", Eren cheered, he took her hands.

Mikasa blushed, when Eren suddenly hugged her, so happy. Mikasa blushed even more.

But she felt so relieved. Now she knew...she could get back home to her mother. Eren then spun her playfully.

"Eren...!", cried Mikasa, she smiled, even laughed a bit.

Jean noticed the two hugging, and frowned, jealous. "Let's return to Maria for now, to rest", Levi said.

They returned to the Inn, where they celebrated with a meal.

"I can't believe we actually did it!", grinned Connie. "It's really great!", Sasha said, her mouth full of food as she ate.

"You mean the victory or the food?", frowned Ymir.

Eren was quiet throughout most of the celebration. He noticed Levi wasn't anywhere to be seen. He looked down grimly, and got up, leaving.

Mikasa blinked, noticing. She got up to follow. On her way out, Jean saw her.

"Uh..Mikasa is it?", he asked nervously. Mikasa blinked, looking behind her at him. Jean seemed to be starring at her short but beautiful raven black hair.

"I...I'm sorry but...you have really beautiful black hair...", Jean stammered, blushing

Mikasa gave him a blank stare. "Thank you", she said coldly, and went outside. Jean stood there, taken aback.

"Ouch...rejected", Krista said. "Damn she turned you down cold", Rubi added. "I think its obvious she likes Eren...", Armin admitted, while Jean looked depressed.

Mikasa hurried outside, she saw Eren sitting outside, on the steps, looking up at the night sky. "Eren?", she asked softly, approaching.

"Mikasa...hey", Eren said softly. Mikasa sat next to him.

"What's wrong?", asked Mikasa worriedly. Eren hesitated. "I just...after seeing those players die...", Eren cringed.

Mikasa's eyes looked remorseful. "I know..sure we're happy we beat the first boss but...people were sacrificed and deserve to be mourned...", she said grimly.

"I...I could never celebrate at all, if something happened to you...", Eren admitted the. Mikasa's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at him.

"Eren...", she said. "I...couldn't either. If you..", Mikasa froze.

"Eren, promise me something", she then took his hand. Eren looked surprised, and even blushed.

"Please...whatever happens, don't die...", Mikasa pleaded. Eren looked at her.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on it", he assured her. He gave her small soft hand a gentle assuring squeeze. Mikasa nodded, relieved.

"So...are you two gonna kiss already or what?", a voice suddenly said, behind them.

"Rubi!", cried Mikasa while Eren jumped back. "What the hell?!", he asked. They were both blushing now.

"I took the Ninja training Quest, so I'm able to sneak up on anyone without them realizing it", Rubi explained.

"That's right...I've been so obsessed with clearing the levels to get back home..I forgot there even were Quests", Eren admitted.

"Believe it or not, Quests really help you. They can provide you with useful items, information or even special XP", Rubi said.

"Is the Ninja training quest the only one you took?", asked Mikasa. "Yeah. But I heard there's this mysterious Unicorn quest", Rubi replied.

"I heard that. It was supposed to be this special quest only Royals could complete", Eren recalled.

"I'm assuming now that the game is...well, real, anyone can complete it", guessed Mikasa. Rubi nodded. "I heard if you complete it, the Unicorn will not only offer her trust, but she offers you a very special item", Rubi said.

"A special item?", asked Mikasa. "It's supposed to be a special type of crystal. When someone untrustworthy is near, it will flash red. That's why several players went North to try and find it", Rubi explained.

"That type of item..it would be useful", Eren said, thinking.

"But the Unicorn is far from here. I read she's hidden in Enchanted Forest, way up North. It's gonna take until we clear Floor 32 to be able to reach it", said Mikasa.

"I bet if anyone can complete that Quest, its you little sis", Rubi smiled. "Mikasa? You have experience with horses?", asked Eren, surprised.

"My parents took me for several lessons only a year ago. I did a lot of riding, and grooming", Mikasa replied, a little modestly.

"You were a natural! She sent me photos and everything on Skype!", Rubi said. "Can I ask why you stopped?", asked Eren.

Mikasa looked down a bit sadly. "Mom got more ill...and dad could barely be home, having to work so...", she replied.

Eren's eyes softened, worriedly. "She gave up riding, something she loved doing, to stay home with her mom", Rubi said sadly.

"Hey...Mikasa. Can I ask...what is wrong with your mom?", asked Eren worriedly.

"She's always been physically weak, ever since she was a baby. She has an extremely weak immune system. When she got pregnant with me, everyone thought I'd be just as weak...but to everyone's surprise, I was born very strong and healthy...", Mikasa explained softly.

"After I was born, mom got worse. Giving birth to me, it...it almost killed her...", Mikasa tensed a bit, looking down. She was fighting back tears.

Rubi glanced at her friend, worriedly.

"If..If I had never been born she...she wouldn't...-"

"STOP that!", Rubi interrupted her then, quite suddenly. Eren blinked.

"Enough of that! Bloody hell, Mikasa! I thought you stopped doing that to yourself! You promised me you would!", Rubi scolded, worry in her eyes.

"I can't help it Rubi...", Mikasa said, her voice shaky now.

"You're telling me...you blame yourself?", Eren starred at Mikasa, in shock. He also felt his own heart break. Mikasa had much more remorse than he realized.

"I did for a long time...", Mikasa admitted, trembling. "It's NOT your fault! Your parents knew the risk, but chose to have a baby. Neither of them ever blamed you", Rubi said, firmly.

Mikasa closed her eyes, fighting back tears.

"Mikasa...", Eren saw a single tear escape one of her eyes. He gently brushed it. Mikasa looked at him.

"Rubi's right. It isn't your fault. You said it yourself, your mom has been sick ever since she was born. Stop blaming yourself, I know your parents, especially your mom, wouldn't want that", Eren soothed her.

Mikasa blinked more tears from her eyes. "Eren...", she cried. She felt a sense of relief. Having two close people in her lives, there for her.

"Thank you...both of you", she sniffed, wiping her eyes.

"No more of that, okay?", Rubi said softly, as she rubbed Mikasa's back. Mikasa gave a small nod.

Eren looked at Rubi, it was extremely clear the two were as close as sisters. He could really see that now.

After they returned inside the Inn, Levi came in finally with Hanji. "Are you brats done feeding your greedy faces?", he asked, crossing his arms.

Everyone had stopped eating, except for Sasha. She was eating the ice cream.

"Sasha...", Connie nudged her nervously. "Oh, sorry! Yes!", Sasha set the bowl down.

"Today was a great victory. It costs lives, and there were sacrifices, but it was a victory. And that's all that matters", Levi said.

Eren frowned a bit. Levi didn't appear all that torn up about Petra's death. And he knew Petra was not just his In Game Wife, but also his wife in real life.

"Tomorrow we begin training again. I already have some ideas where we can find Boss 2", Levi said.

He left the room. Eren glared. "What the hell? His wife was killed and he doesn't even tremble...", he growled.

"You must understand Jaeger, it's not easy to be leader of a team like this. Levi chooses to hide his emotions, for our sake", Hanji explained.

Eren looked down. A part of him still didn't like it, but another part of him admired it. He could never be that type of leader.

If something ever happened to Mikasa...he couldn't bear it.


	5. Scar

**Author's Note: Sorry updates are late on this one!**

 _Level 5:_

 _Scar_

"It took a while but we finally found Floor 10's location", Levi instructed. The group sat around him, as they went over their strategy.

Eren sat next to Mikasa, with Armin and Rubi. They had beaten quite a few floors and now there next one was floor 10.

It took them two whole months to finally figure out where it was located.

"So where is it?", asked Eren eagerly. "Believe it or not, its not on land. It's located in Shiro Lake", Levi replied.

"So its underwater?", asked Mikasa. "Yes. The boss is also a very different sort of titan", said Hanji.

"It's actually a Marine Titan. It resembles a mermaid more. The good thing, is its not that strong a boss", Levi explained.

"So then this should be easy!", said Eren, cockily. He had grown a bit more reckless and cocky since beating 9 floors.

"The Boss isn't the hard part. The problem is getting to it", Levi said then. "Getting to it? Is it guarded?", asked Armin.

"To put it lightly. It's guarded by thousands of deadly Mermaids. They each have a special spear. One hit by it causes your HP to drop halfway down, no matter how much HP you have", Hanji explained.

"Seriously?", asked Rubi. "But that isn't the hardest part..", Levi said then. "The challenge is the fact it's underwater, right?", asked Mikasa.

"Exactly. We were able to get you each a special item to help you breathe underwater, but the effects only last Three hours", replied Levi.

"What is this special item?", asked Jean. "Check your inventories", Levi replied.

Eren brought this up, seeing a Mermaid scale. "Attach it to your necks, and you'll have the ability to breathe underwater. But remember, it only lasts three hours. And if its hit by one of their spears, it will no longer work", Levi explained.

"We're not gonna turn into fish creatures, are we?", asked Sasha, looking creeped out by that. "No, you'll all remain human", assured Levi.

"How long do we have before our HP drops down?", asked Mikasa.

"Once you're unable to breathe underwater, your HP will drop down quickly. Be sure you all have health potions on you", Levi replied.

"Our blades will work against these mermaids, right?", asked Sasha.

"Yes. We live now", Levi said. They exited the Inn, and headed towards the lake.

"Why do they call it Shiro lake?", asked Connie, curiously. "Because the lake is always covered by a white mist. Some players think its haunted", said Krista.

"Eren...this floor is entirely different from the previous ones...we should be extra careful", Mikasa said softly.

"Don't worry Mikasa, we both got plenty of HP. This will be a piece of cake", grinned Eren, excited.

Mikasa looked at him worried, he had gotten a lot more cocky since beating floor 6. He wore a special black coat with the Wings of Freedom symbol on it, while Mikasa wore the Wings of Freedom scout outfit, the light brown jacket with the symbol on it, and of course her red scarf.

Eren's HP was currently 7012, while Mikasa's was 7890. Rubi's was up to 4000, while Armin's was 4012.

They soon arrived at the lake, and it indeed had a white mist over it. The air was chilly around it. The lake was also extremely large.

"It goes all the way back to those mountains", said Hanji. "The boss is in the center of the lake", added Levi.

"Is there any other creatures to worry about?", asked Ymir.

"Luckily, no. The fish in this lake leave the players alone", said Levi. They stepped up to the lake.

"The mermaids are all over the center. Our best way to reach the titan, is to split up into groups of two", Levi decided.

"Eren, you and Mikasa will approach from the front. Armin, you and Rubi will approach from the left. Jean, you and Connie will approach from the right. And from the back, myself and Hanji. The rest of you will approach in between those directions", Levi explained.

"Now, place your scales on", he said.

They all took the brightly colored scales out of their inventories, and attached them to their necks.

Eren blinked, seeing a timer appear on his menu. It was counting down from three hours.

"Lets go!", Levi ordered, they all dived in.

Eren felt a rush of cold water, as he and Mikasa dived in. He opened his eyes, to see they were deep under.

It was unnaturally clean, the water looking blue rather than green.

It was also freezing. "Eren...", Mikasa said. Eren looked at her, realizing not only could they breathe underwater, but talk.

Her hair flowed beautifully in the water, and her scarf also hovered, but remained around her neck.

"Let's hurry", she said, bubbles emerging from her mouth. "Right..", Eren nodded, bubbles forming from his own mouth. He took her hand, and the two swam forward.

Mikasa swam ahead a little, seeing several underwater vines sticking out from the lake floor.

It was a forest of them. "What is it?", asked Eren. "I'm making sure they aren't poisonous", Mikasa replied. She scanned them with her menu.

The Poisonous warning didn't come up. Eren watched, Mikasa really was a genius. She was always careful.

"Okay, we're good", Mikasa said then. Eren nodded, the two swam through the forest of vines.

Mikasa shivered, her lips blue from how cold the water was. Eren noticed, worried.

"This water is freezing...we better get this over with as quick as possible before we turn into ice", he said, urgently.

Mikasa nodded, she glanced, to make sure her scarf was still on her, and it was.

They swam for what felt like an eternity, passing several rocks, vines and fish. Until finally, they something swimming in the distance.

Eren blinked, and saw it was a mermaid. It was a creepy looking thing, with razor fangs, and a gray fin.

"Eren...remember what Levi said about their spears. We shouldn't attack every one we see, only the ones in our way", Mikasa said.

"I know...", Eren assured. They swam further in, and saw underwater cave. "In there, right?", asked Eren.

Mikasa nodded, they swam in. The water felt a little warmer inside, and it was much darker. Mikasa looked around, so far not seeing anything.

She kept her hand on her sword, just in case.

After swimming for a while, Eren checked the timer. They still had an hour and a half.

"Mikasa...", he showed her the timer. "I know", Mikasa assured him. The two swam further in, until finally, they made it out of the other end.

The first thing they saw was a giant pink coral. It was massive, and sleeping inside it...was the marine titan.

Unlike the other titans that had tan or gray skin, this one had light green skin. It resembled a mermaid more, with dark green fins and a black tail.

It also appeared to have 7 eyes. "Where's all the guards?", asked Mikasa, looking around for them.

"This is a piece of cake! They're not even here!", Eren grinned, he started to swim towards it.

"Eren, don't!", Mikasa cried, something didn't feel right. This was much too easy for Floor 10.

These mermaids...they had to be hiding in the shadows. There's no way they would keep this boss unguarded.

Eren ignored her, eager to finish this floor. He swam up towards the boss, and drew his sword.

"Eren!", Mikasa swam after him, drawing her own sword. As soon as Eren was only inches from the boss, its 7 eyes suddenly opened.

It then opened its mouth, releasing an ear splitting cry.

Eren backed up, when suddenly thousands of mermaids swam at them full speed, spears aiming right at them.

"Shit!", Eren swam towards Mikasa. "I knew it!", Mikasa yelled, as they kept close to each other, the mermaids circled them, surrounding them.

One mermaid's spear got close to Mikasa, and it suddenly grazed her cheek. Mikasa winced, as some blood flowed out.

Her HP lost about 22.

"Mikasa!", Eren yelled, fearfully. "I'm okay! It's just a scratch!", Mikasa assured, but it was deep, it would become a scar.

"Damn it...", Eren growled. How could he be so reckless? Now he had endangered Mikasa.

Eren glared, he slashed any that got close enough. They were dead by just one slash, their HP only 300 each, but the problem was there were thousands of them...no, at this point, _millions_.

Mikasa slashed ten in a row. "We can't swim through them Eren! If they stab our scales we'll drown!", Mikasa yelled urgently.

"I know!", Eren glared, he slashed five more.

Suddenly a sword slashed through 30 of them, and pushing through was Levi. "You idiot Jaeger!", he growled, slashing ten more.

Hanji, Jean, Sasha, Armin, Rubi and the rest appeared then too, slashing through.

"Just push through!", ordered Levi. "Mikasa, your cheek...!", Rubi noticed fearfully. Her long red hair flowed in the water.

"I'm fine!", assured Mikasa, as they slashed through.

"Eren, what the hell?!", Jean demanded. "I fucked up, okay?!", Eren yelled back. "We don't have time to argue right now!", Armin yelled.

They slashed through several more mermaids, when Eren finally saw an opening towards the boss.

He glared, its HP was only 2000, this would be dead easy.

He glared, and swam up towards it. Mikasa slashed six more mermaids, and saw. "Eren!", she cried urgently.

She went to follow, when suddenly a large rock fell on the end of her scarf. Mikasa cried out, nearly choking, and saw.

"Damn it!", Mikasa pulled at the scarf urgently. The others were being overwhelmed by the millions of mermaids, so they didn't notice.

At this point, the swarm was so large, that's all they could see, was mermaids. They couldn't even see each other.

Rubi slashed ten of them, while Armin slashed five. But with every ten they slashed, ten more appeared.

"Try and get to the boss! If it's killed, they'll flee!", ordered Levi. "We can't find an opening!", cried Sasha.

Eren swam around the massive coral, and the boss titan starred at him, glaring. Eren glared back, drawing his sword.

The boss suddenly released another ear splitting cry, and about a thousand mermaids swam up to him.

Eren glared, struggling, but slashing through them, he was only inches from the boss's weak spot, its nape.

It had a large gill on that back of its nape.

Mikasa continued pulling at her scarf, but it was stuck. She glared, and looked up, seeing Eren only inches from the boss's nape.

"Eren!", she cried urgently, she pulled her scarf again, but it was hopeless. She glared, she wouldn't leave her scarf here.

It was the first thing Eren ever gave her...she wasn't going to leave it behind.

It was that important to her. The others were still struggling, trapped in the hoard of mermaids.

Mikasa pulled again, much harder, but it was still no use.

Eren glared, he slashed through more mermaids, and finally, he saw the nape again.

He yelled, and slashed the nape then. The gill ripped off, as blood flew out. The titan boss suddenly screamed, an ear splitting sound.

The entire lake shook and the mermaids suddenly stopped attacking the players, all looking up towards the boss.

The boss titan screamed, and finally vanished, defeated. The mermaids all fled suddenly, in fear.

On everyone's menu, the words "CONGRATULATIONS: FLOOR TEN, CLEARED"

They still had a half an hour of air. "Eren defeated it!", yelled Armin. "Everyone, swim to the surface!", ordered Levi.

Several players were injured, with only half HP.

Eren swam back down, and just as he was looking around for Mikasa, he heard Rubi.

"EREN!", she yelled urgently. Eren looked, and his heart sunk. Mikasa's scarf was still trapped under the rock.

"Mikasa!", he swam down fearfully. "She won't take it off!", Rubi cried, fearfully.

"Mikasa! Forget about it, you can't stay down here!", Eren yelled, urgently. "Eren, I won't leave it here! Help me push this rock off!", cried Mikasa.

She tried pushing the giant rock herself, but couldn't. Eren glared, he pushed it as well then. Rubi and Armin helped.

"Come on!", Eren growled, shoving it with all his strength. Mikasa gritted her teeth, shoving it hard, while Armin and Rubi did as well.

When it just started to budge, a mermaid approached them. They didn't see it.

"Almost...!", Armin growled.

Mikasa shoved it harder, and just as her scarf was released, the mermaid swam right at them full speed, and stabbed Mikasa's scale, destroying it.

Mikasa cried out fearfully, as Eren froze in horror. "Mikasa!", cried Rubi fearfully. The scale broke into pieces, and vanished.

"YOU BASTARD!", Moving fast, Eren glared and slashed the mermaid, killing it.

Mikasa suddenly couldn't find any air, with her scale broken, she couldn't breathe underwater.

Tons of bubbles suddenly emerged from her mouth, as water filled her throat, and she fell unconscious.

"MIKASA!", Eren grabbed her quickly, as they started swimming towards the surface. Rubi and Armin helped.

"Eren!", Rubi cried urgently then.

Eren looked, to see Mikasa's HP dropping fast. He glared, his heart racing as they swam towards the surface as fast as they could.

Above the surface, Levi and the rest waited anxiously. "Why the hell haven't they surfaced yet?!", cried Sasha urgently.

"Something went wrong...", Levi prepared to dive back in, when suddenly they saw bubbles on the surface.

"There!", Jean yelled urgently. Suddenly, Eren, Armin, Rubi surfaced, all holding an unconscious Mikasa.

"Mikasa!", cried Krista. Jean and Sasha dove in to help.

They helped them pull Mikasa to the surface, they were all soaked. "What happened?!", cried Sasha, as Eren lay Mikasa down.

"Her scarf got stuck...!", replied Rubi.

Her HP was at red, but still dropping. "Why hasn't it stopped dropping?!", Armin panicked.

"She needs air, remember?! We're real!", Levi said urgently, recalling what the game creator said.

Eren didn't waste anytime, his heart racing. He removed her scarf, and her jacket, and started performing CPR.

He pumped on her chest, and blew lungfuls of air into her. "Come on Mikasa! Breathe!", he yelled fearfully.

His heart was pounding in his chest, as he continued. Her HP had only about 20 left, as he continued.

"Come on! Mikasa! You're stronger than this! Breathe!", Eren felt tears start to well up in his eyes, as he pressed his lips to hers, blowing more air into her.

Suddenly, Mikasa coughed. "Mikasa...!", Eren helped her sit up, as her HP bar stopped dropping.

"That's it, that's it Mikasa!", cried Rubi urgently. Mikasa coughed up tons of water then.

"Easy...that's it...", Eren rubbed her back, as Mikasa coughed up more water.

Mikasa coughed shakily shivering like a leaf, as she panted, catching her breath.

"E-Eren...?", she asked weakly.

Eren's heart skipped a beat, as tears of relief filled his eyes. "Mikasa!", cried Rubi relieved, she hugged her tightly.

"Mikasa...you idiot! You could have drowned, all for this stupid scarf!", Eren yelled, angrily, but also relieved.

Mikasa saw him pick her scarf up, and she hastily grabbed it, holding it close.

"Let's get back to the Inn! We're all freezing", Levi said urgently.

Once back in town, and in the Inn, Mikasa was changed in a nightgown with blankets wrapped around her, as she sat on the couch by the lit fireplace.

The others were wrapped in blankets too. Eren sat by Mikasa worried, as Rubi cuddled Mikasa close to keep her warm.

"You're going to get a fever, sis. Why would you do that?! All for that scarf?", cried Rubi worriedly, rubbing Mikasa's shoulders to warm her up.

Mikasa looked down softly, still shivering. "Because...it was the first thing Eren ever gave to me", she replied.

Eren looked at her softly.

"Mikasa...", he sighed softly. "It wasn't your fault. Or because of your scarf...", he said then.

Mikasa and Rubi looked at him. "This was all my fault...if I hadn't have got reckless...none of this would have happened...I'm so sorry Mikasa...", Eren looked down, obvious guilt and regret in his eyes.

"Eren...", said Mikasa softly. She gently held his hand then. Eren looked at her, they both blushed a bit.

"Mikasa...your hands are freezing..", Eren held them both then with his, keeping them warm. Her small hands felt like ice cubes.

Mikasa blushed a bit, as he warmed her hands up. Her scratch had stopped bleeding, but it was deep enough to become a scar.

Rubi watched them, they both still seemed to shy to confess their obvious feelings. Eren continued rubbing Mikasa's hands.

That day, he made a promise to himself. He never would get that reckless again. He would keep Mikasa safe, no matter what.


	6. Murder

**Author's Note: I've decided to do a double update on this since I've been neglecting it WAY too much. The ideas are all there, just haven't had enough time with Spring Cleaning. Don't worry, the others will be updated soon as well!**

 _Level Six:_

 _Murder_

"Damn it! This is impossible!", complained Eren, as he pulled the hook out of the water. He and Armin were trying to do some fishing.

Rubi and Mikasa had both reached the highest level in Cooking skill, so wanted to try out some new recipes.

"You're pulling too quickly, you have to wait until the fish have a good strong grip", Armin said, he had already caught two fish.

Eren sighed. "I'm tired, you finish", he complained, laying back on the grass.

They had beaten a total of 32 floors. It had been 4 months since they beat Floor 10. Currently, they were taking a break from clearing floors.

"Hey, if Mikasa catches you laying down on the job, you're in for it!", Armin said.

Eren shrugged, tired. "What's the deal between you two, anyway?", Armin asked then. Eren blushed, looking again.

"There's no deal...", he denied, embarrassed. "Come on Eren, the way you two look at each other, its so obvious!", Armin pointed out.

After Armin caught one last fish, the two went inside the cabin. "Did you catch anything?", asked Rubi, while Mikasa was in the kitchen.

When she wasn't in her Scout outfit, she wore a casual pretty light pink dress, with a soft red jacket.

"I did, but Eren gave up", Armin said, as he set the bucket of fish down. "Eren, you shouldn't give up so quickly", Mikasa scolded, coming over.

"But Mikasa, we can buy fish from the market, we don't need to fish ourselves!", Eren whined.

"Sure we do! Fish from the market is hardly fresh, I've read if caught from the lake yourself, fish is at its freshest then, so it tastes the best then", Mikasa explained.

Both girls were excited to cook since finishing the cooking skill. "These three will be enough for lunch and dinner", said Rubi, looking at them.

Eren yawned. "Eren, go outside and chop some wood", Mikasa said then. "Wha..?! Why me?", Eren complained lazily.

"Quit being lazy! Armin caught dinner, Rubi and I are cooking, the least you can do is get firewood!", Mikasa growled.

Eren sighed. "Fine", he went outside.

"What's with him?", asked Rubi. "Easy village life isn't Eren's thing. He'd rather be out fighting titans and bosses", Mikasa sighed, as she held a piece of her scarf.

"What does he think he'll do once we clear the game?", asked Rubi. Mikasa looked down softly then.

Clear the game...she wondered if that would ever happen.

Soon Eren brought in some firewood. "You're just in time, lunch is ready", said Rubi as Mikasa set the table with Armin.

"Good, I'm starving", admitted Eren.

He sat at the table, and then blinked, seeing cooked fish, warm rice, warm stew, and hot tea. "Whoa...you two made all this?", asked Eren.

"Yeah...", Mikasa replied, blushing a bit.

Eren took a bite, and he blinked. "This is delicious!", he exclaimed, shocked. "Really?", asked Mikasa, blushing, her eyes lighting up.

"I'm not kidding, you two are great cooks!", Eren stuffed his face more. Mikasa blushed more, her face lighting up.

Armin took a bite next. Rubi watched him.

"Whoa...you're right!", Armin began eating fast too. Both Mikasa and Rubi blushed, smiling.

After eating lunch, Eren went outside. He lay down on the grass, under the Sakura tree. Mikasa came over.

"Eren, you're being awfully lazy today", she pointed out.

"It's a really peaceful day, you should take it easy too", Eren said. Mikasa sat down by Eren.

"The breeze really is nice..", she admitted, as it blew through her short black hair and red scarf.

"It is...", Eren agreed. Mikasa lay down next to him. "Eren...how will do you think it will be?", she asked softly.

"What?", blinked Eren.

"Until we clear the game? We've spent a half a year in it already, and have only cleared 32 floors out of 100", Mikasa said.

Eren's eyes softened. "I don't know, Mikasa. Its going to be a while..I know that much", he said.

Mikasa's eyes seemed to be somewhere else. "You're thinking about your mom, aren't you?", asked Eren.

Mikasa nodded softly. "I know she's worried sick about me...and I'm not there for her, when she needs me", she said softly. She didn't cry, but her eyes were full of remorse.

Eren was sure she only showed her tears at night, before she went to bed.

"I don't know when, but we _will_ clear the game, Mikasa. I promise you that", said Eren. Mikasa nodded, she then surprised him a little.

She rolled over, onto him, so her head was resting on his chest. Eren blushed, a bit surprised.

"M-Mikasa...", he started, very red.

"Can we...just stay like this for a while, Eren? It feels nice...", Mikasa asked softly, closing her eyes.

Eren relaxed then, but was still blushing. "Sure...", he said, as he gently wrapped his arm around her.

Mikasa drifted to sleep then in his arms.

'Mikasa...you've been wearing yourself out, haven't you? Between training hard, and worrying about your mother...its no wonder you're so tired', Eren thought to himself, worriedly.

He gently rubbed her shoulder as she slept soundly.

Sunset soon approached, Eren watched as the sky changed color from blue to orange.

Mikasa softly stirred then. Eren blinked, looking. Mikasa sat up, yawning. "Hey sleepyhead", Eren smiled.

"Its sunset already...?", asked Mikasa, rubbing her eyes. "You slept like a baby", Eren said. Mikasa blushed a bit.

"Oh no! We were supposed to pick up some groceries from the market!", she cried then, remembering.

She quickly got up, Eren following. "Don't worry, the market is still open. It never closes, remember?", asked Eren.

"I know, but I'd prefer to be back by dark", said Mikasa. She adjusted her scarf. Eren looked at her then, the scar on her cheek was a line, under her eye.

"Hey...does that still hurt at all?", he asked worriedly then. Mikasa blinked softly. "No..not at all", she assured, pressing two of her fingers on it.

Eren looked down, still blaming himself for what happened.

Ever since the incident with Floor 10, he became much more careful, and with that, much stronger.

"Eren...it's not your fault", Mikasa said softly, seeing it in his eyes. "I was too reckless that time..its my fault you got hurt, and almost drowned..", Eren growled.

"Eren, it was just a scratch. It wasn't a serious injury...", assured Mikasa.

As they walked through town, they noticed two figures in the distance. Two players. One wore a hooded cloak, so they couldn't see his or her face.

"Eren...", Mikasa stopped then. "What?", blinked Eren, he then gasped, as Mikasa's expression turned to shock.

The hooded player drew his or her sword, and in an instant, slashed the other player.

Mikasa gasped, seeing that player's HP drop all the way down, dead.

"W-What...?!", Eren gawked. "Impossible...this is a safe zone! No player can die in a place like this!", cried Mikasa.

"Besides...there's MP everywhere, what makes them think they'll get away with murder?!", Eren asked, urgently.

Mikasa glared. "I can't forgive it...taking another life...!", she suddenly drew her own sword, sprinting at the hooded player.

"Mikasa! Wait!", Eren followed, drawing his own sword.

The player suddenly brought up his or her menu, and teleported, gone. Mikasa stopped, glaring.

"They teleported...", growled Eren, while Mikasa put her sword away, still glaring.

"What the hell...how did they kill another player in a safe zone?", asked Mikasa, the breeze blowing through her hair and scarf.

"You two! Did you witness it?!", a voice yelled then. Eren and Mikasa looked, to see the head of the MP approach them.

"Yeah...a hooded player, they killed another...how is that possible?!", demanded Eren. "Come with me, I need to hear everything", the MP leader led them inside the nearest restaurant.

They sat at a table.

"We didn't get a chance to even see the player's name or HP bar, it happened so fast...", Mikasa explained.

"Whoever did this, not only committed a serious crime against Sword Attack Online's rules, but must have found a way to hack the system...", the MP leader said. He drank some tea.

"Hack the system?", asked Eren. "A player trapped in the game can do that?", asked Mikasa, urgently.

"We didn't think it was possible, but obviously, this player found a way", the MP leader replied.

"So that's how they were able to kill in a safe zone...maybe, cheats?", thought Mikasa.

"Cheats are most likely involved as well. But in order to kill in a safe zone, he or she would have had to be extremely smart", the leader said.

"I don't get it, how'd they hack the system if they're...IN the game? They aren't sitting at home, playing it. Because we were all transported in the game...", said Eren.

"I don't know. There must be ways players can hack from within", the leader said.

"But...what motive would they have? To just murder any random player?", asked Mikasa.

"They didn't appear to be having a confrontation, did they?", asked the leader. Mikasa shook her head.

"No, not at all", added Eren. "The other player didn't even draw their sword...", said Mikasa.

"Several players who logged on to Sword Attack Online, they were players with the pure intention to bully other players, or be trolls, or they just had fun being villains", the leader explained.

"But once the game became real...", Eren realized. "Either they got spooked and stopped, or they had a much more sinister side they didn't even know about, and now have fun murdering", the leader nodded.

"I bet anything some of them are also in denial, and think its just a game still", realized Mikasa.

"That too. You really didn't catch a glimpse as to what they looked like? Not even if it was a boy or girl?", asked the leader.

"No, like we said. He wore a hooded cloak. It was so quick...", replied Mikasa.

"I see. Well, if you hear, see or find anything, I want you to contact me. This needs to be investigated", the leader said. "We will", assured Eren.

After leaving the restaurant, Eren and Mikasa walked back to their cabin. Eren was in deep thought, so was Mikasa.

They both wondered the same thing...how could a player from within hack the system? And even more...who was it?

For all they knew, it could be someone they've met or seen before. It was sick to think, some players just stuck around merely to commit murder.

For their own sick pleasure. Eren recalled when several players tried killing Armin on the first day.

Mikasa blinked then, she looked towards the forest.

"Mikasa?", asked Eren seeing her stop. "Eren, I think I have an idea", she said. "Yeah? I'm all ears", Eren said eagerly.

"Remember the Unicorn Quest? In the Enchanted forest?", asked Mikasa. "Yeah...wait!", Eren realized then.

If you complete the Unicorn Quest, you are given a very special item. A special crystal that flashes whenever someone with evil intentions is around.

With that item, they could find the murderer faster. "Mikasa, you're a genius!", Eren said. Mikasa blushed a bit, but she nodded.

"Just think Eren, if this player hangs out in safe zones, and is reckless enough, we could just walk by him or her, with that crystal. They wouldn't know what hit them", she said, anxiously.

"So where is the enchanted forest?", asked Eren. Mikasa brought up her menu, and pressed World Map.

"It's on this floor", she said. "So what's the Quest?", asked Eren.

"The Quest is you must rescue a Unicorn that's been captured by in game hunters. If you can rescue her, and earn her trust, she will award you with the item", Mikasa explained.

"I heard originally only Royals could complete the quest", Eren said worriedly.

"But there's no more royals, titans or warriors. Its just players and Titan bosses. We shouldn't be denied access", Mikasa assured.

"The Quest can only be accessed at night", Eren noticed on the menu. "Yeah. The Unicorns in this world are nocturnal. They're also immortal", Mikasa nodded.

"But there is one catch, the crystal can only be used once", Mikasa said then. "Only once?", asked Eren.

Mikasa nodded.

"Then we should leave tonight! The sun's almost set", Eren decided. "We got plenty of health potions...but there's one problem", Mikasa said.

Eren blinked.

"According to what I read, the Unicorn distrusts men. She'll only go to women. Rubi and I should go", Mikasa decided.

"Wait a minute though...Mikasa, there's mutants in that forest, right?", asked Eren worriedly.

"Not near as many as the others, the Enchanted Forest is heavily guarded by the Unicorn's magic from mutants. It won't be near as dangerous. Rubi and I can handle ourselves", assured Mikasa.

Eren hesitated, still looking worried. He knew Mikasa was extremely strong, and could handle herself, plus she'd have Rubi with her, but he still couldn't help but feel worried.

By dark, Mikasa and Rubi got ready to go. "We might be gone for a few days, depending", Rubi said.

"While you're gone, Eren and I will investigate here", Armin said.

"Mikasa, you sure you'll be okay?", asked Eren worriedly. "Eren, I'll be fine. I'm strong. Rubi and I can handle ourselves", assured Mikasa.

Eren nodded softly.

"Let's go", Rubi and Mikasa headed out.

They left the village, and soon found the Enchanted forest. "This forest is very different from the others...", Rubi noted.

"It's supposed to have more unusual creatures, and most are gentle", Mikasa said.

She adjusted her scarf, to make sure it stayed on. The forest had a bit of a blue light about it, and it was bright, despite being night.

The trees looked full of life, and the grass was soft as well.

The air was crisp and cool. Mikasa blinked, seeing tiny blue lights hovering near them. "Fireflies?", asked Rubi.

"No, fireflies are green...", Mikasa looked, seeing the name of the creature appear on the menu. It said "FreezeFlies"

"They're really pretty...", she mused, watching them. "They're not hostile either", Rubi said.

They then saw an animal leap down from a tree. It looked like a fox/cat hybrid, with bright eyes and a long tail.

It was a light purple color. "It's so cute", Rubi said, smiling. "Its another harmless creature", Mikasa said.

They then saw something large fly overhead. "Whoa..!", cried Rubi. "Is it a Griffin?", asked Mikasa, watching it.

Rubi then blinked. "Mikasa, over there!", she said. Mikasa looked, and ahead of them, there was a white glow.

Both girls walked towards it. "It seems a little far off", Mikasa said.

"Mikasa, I have to ask", started Rubi. Mikasa looked at her.

"What is going on between you and Eren?", asked Rubi. Mikasa turned red, looking away.

"N-Nothing! I already told you, we saved each other...", she denied, blushing. "But you're totally blushing! Its so obvious you like him", Rubi grinned.

Mikasa looked away, still blushing.

"Look we need to focus on the Quest", she said.

They walked further in, until finally they found the source of the glow. They saw an opening, in the center of the forest. It was a grassy field, with a beautiful lake.

Tied to a tree, near the lake was the source of the white glow. "Mikasa, look..", said Rubi, amazed. Mikasa followed her gaze, and felt her breath catch in her throat.

The Unicorn's white fur and mane was so bright, it glowed. It's horn was long and golden, it had a glow from it as well.

"She's so beautiful...", mused Mikasa. "She's so bright, she lights this whole center up", added Rubi.

Mikasa brought up her menu. The option "Accept Quest?" came up. Both Mikasa and Rubi pressed "Yes".

As soon as they did, the Unicorn looked straight at them, its eyes were a silvery blue color.

"Rubi...is it possible this Unicorn is real?", wondered Mikasa. "Aside from the players, every other thing is not real. The bosses, the in game creatures, none of them bleed or show signs of being alive", Rubi replied.

But the Unicorn was so beautiful, it was hard to believe it wasn't living. It gently counted its hoof into the ground.

"So all we have to do is untie her? It seems almost too easy", admitted Mikasa, as they slowly approached the Unicorn.

"Mikasa...you go untie her. I'll cover you in case anything happens", Rubi said then, stopping. "What?", blinked Mikasa.

"You're amazing with horses, its best if you approach her", explained Rubi. "But...Unicorns aren't horses", Mikasa said a bit nervously.

"They're roughly the same, its okay", Rubi assured her. Mikasa nodded, she carefully walked up to the unicorn.

The animal looked at her gently. "Easy girl...", Mikasa very gently started to untie her. The unicorn remained calm, watching.

As Mikasa untied her, there was a shadow lingering above them, hidden in the trees.


	7. Confessed Feelings

**Author's Note: HOLY SHIT! I bet you guys NEVER expected me to update this again! I know it was on a long ass hiatus. It was because not long after I started watching SAO, I actually began to not enjoy it so much. I felt like the story went from badass and interesting to cliché and weak. However, I decided to continue this before I want to also write (with of course Eremika) my idea of how I'd like to see SAO go. This fanfic will be updated back to back with Mikasa's Secret. Thank you all SO much for your patience!**

 _Level Seven:_

 _Confessed Feelings_

Mikasa very carefully removed the rope from around the Unicorn's neck. The animal was calm, watching Mikasa.

Mikasa felt the Unicorn's fur, it felt like velvet. She gently lifted the rope over the Unicorn's head, and removed it.

The Unicorn counted softly in the grass, and took a few steps back. "It still doesn't say Quest completed...", Rubi noted, even though they freed the Unicorn.

The Unicorn neighed then, and galloped off, at the same time a list of items appeared on Mikasa's and Rubi's game screens.

"It says to collect these items and the quest will be completed", Rubi said. The items were an apple, a blanket, and water.

"We both already have water...and apples grow in this forest", Mikasa said. "We can get a blanket from the village...it seems almost too easy", Rubi admitted.

"Okay...I'll go try and find her. You can bring the blanket", Mikasa decided. "Okay", Rubi hurried off.

Mikasa walked through the forest, following the glow. Finally, she spotted the Unicorn under a Sakura tree. The pink petals fell near it, as it lay down, folding its front legs under its body, relaxing.

Even though the Unicorn was just a in game creature, and wasn't really alive, it really seemed and looked alive.

Mikasa approached the Unicorn gently.

She gently sat beside the Unicorn, who suddenly nuzzled Mikasa. "You're so beautiful...", mused Mikasa, as she gently placed her hand over the Unicorn's nose.

Her fur was warm. Mikasa then blinked, hearing a sudden rustling above them. The Unicorn heard it too, perking her ears.

She neighed, but remained where she was. Mikasa got up, glaring.

She drew her sword, but didn't see any player HP bars in the trees. Maybe just another creature.

But she kept alert, to be safe. The trees rustled again, as Mikasa glared.

"A player can't hide their HP bar, can they...?", she asked.

The trees stopped rustling then. Mikasa relaxed a bit, as she put her sword away.

"Mikasa!", Rubi called, hurrying over. "I'm over here Rubi!", Mikasa called back. Rubi hurried over. "I got the blanket", she said, out of breath.

"Okay...keep a look out..", Mikasa said, still watching the trees. "Why?", blinked Rubi, worriedly.

"I just...keep getting the feeling someone's watching us", admitted Mikasa, as she approached the Unicorn.

Rubi nodded, she kept her hand on her sword, as she looked at the trees. Mikasa took out the three items from her inventory.

All three items were set in front of the Unicorn. Rubi and Mikasa watched, as the Unicorn neighed softly, when suddenly a strange glow appeared beside the Unicorn.

It seemed to transform into blue sparkles, and then appearing out of thin air...was a Unicorn filly. Mikasa's eyes grew wide, shocked while Rubi also looked amazed.

"A foal...?", asked Rubi, surprised. "So that's what these items are for", realized Mikasa. The filly stood up, being as white as her mother, and had a small gold horn on her forehead.

The filly ate the apple, drank the water and then got the blanket over her.

"She's so cute", smiled Mikasa. "She is..", Rubi then blinked, hearing a rustling in the trees.

Mikasa noticed too, she looked up, when suddenly, an arrow shot out from the trees. It moved like lightening, and struck the mother Unicorn.

The unicorn neighed painfully, suddenly standing on her hind legs. Mikasa gasped, while Rubi's eyes grew wide in horror.

The Unicorn neighed again, and suddenly, turned into shards, dead. "W-What...?!", cried Mikasa, horrified.

"Mikasa, grab the filly!", Rubi yelled urgently, drawing her sword. Mikasa nodded, she lifted the filly up, while Rubi leaped up at the trees, slashing her sword.

Whoever was there, was gone. Teleported, maybe?

"Mikasa, how is that possible?", cried Rubi, as she landed back down. "It must have been the same player who murdered in the safe zone", realized Mikasa.

"They must also know we could have got the crystal from this quest", Rubi said.

"Whoever did this...is someone who really knows how to hack a game. Its made impossible for players to kill the Unicorn. Its just not an option", Mikasa explained, anxiously.

"So now what...? Without a unicorn, we can't obtain that crystal", Rubi cried. Mikasa looked down softly at the filly she held.

"We...kinda do have one", she said, when suddenly the filly's horn glowed, and a sapphire blue crystal appeared in thin air.

"It's the crystal!", Rubi exclaimed. Mikasa took it, as the filly suddenly leaped from her arms, and transformed to an adult. The Unicorn galloped off into the forest.

"We have it, let's hurry back!", Mikasa said. Rubi nodded, the girls hurrying back to the Inn.

Eren and Armin waited inside the Inn, browsing through their inventories on the screens. "Armin, why the hell do you have so many oranges?", asked Eren.

"I get hungry, how come you have five different swords?", asked Armin. "Hey, you never know what kind you'll need", Eren pointed out.

"Eren! Armin, we got the crystal!", Mikasa cried, as she and Rubi entered. "You did!?", asked Eren, anxiously.

He stood up with Armin, closing their screens.

"It'll be morning soon, let's hurry and use it", said Armin. The crystal suddenly glowed brightly. A light blue beam of light shot out of the inn, and into the forest.

"Let's go", Eren growled, drawing his sword. He, Mikasa, Armin and Rubi followed the beam into the forest.

"Hurry! The murderer was in the forest earlier!", Mikasa warned. "What?!", asked Eren urgently as they ran.

"He or she killed the Unicorn...even though a player normally can't do that!", Rubi explained. Eren glared.

What the hell kind of player was this...

As the four ran further into the forest, they were being watched closely. Two shadowy figures watched them from a tree.

"Not good...despite killing the unicorn, they still got the crystal", one of the male voices spoke.

"She won't be pleased...", the other male voice said.

"At the very least we can slow them down...give her time to escape", the other said.

He brought his screen up suddenly. It appeared green, with hacking codes. He pressed in some codes.

As Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Rubi ran, their path was suddenly blocked by a large centipede. It was the size of a 15 meter titan.

"Shit..!", Eren skidded to a stop. Mikasa looked at them, glaring as she drew her own sword.

The centipede suddenly dived down at them, its fangs dripping with poison. Mikasa and Eren both leaped over, along with Rubi and Armin.

Mikasa glared, she then used her 3DM gear, and flew up. Raising her sword, she slashed the giant insect's head clean off.

It collapsed, the ground shaking as Mikasa landed. "That was easy...", Armin commented. "Too easy...something's not right", Mikasa said.

Eren blinked. "It doesn't have a health bar!", he noticed. "So its real?!", cried Rubi. Suddenly, about 5 more giant centipedes appeared.

None has health bars either. Mikasa froze then, seeing the first centipede's head re-attaching to the body.

"They regenerate!", she cried urgently.

Eren dodged out of its way, glaring.

"What the hell are these things?!", he growled, as he slashed at one, splitting its body in half.

But it quickly regenerated. "They're something to hold us up! From catching the murderer!", Rubi realized, as she tried slashing another.

"Eren, Mikasa! You two are stronger than us! Go ahead! We'll hold these off!", Armin yelled then.

"What?!", Eren asked. "Armin, are you sure?", asked Mikasa worriedly.

"Yes! Go!", Armin yelled. "We'll be fine!", Rubi added as she slashed a centipede's legs off, but they regenerated.

Eren and Mikasa nodded, they took off, following the beam from the crystal.

"Eren, have you ever seen those giant centipedes before?", asked Mikasa urgently as they ran.

"Only during the Beta days! I saw concept art on the internet, they were supposed to be a part of the game, but were replaced by the poison wolves, the ones that attacked you when we first met!", Eren replied.

"So if they're Beta...", Mikasa realized.

"No player should have access to them! Only the staff team would have the power to add them into the game!", Eren explained anxiously.

As they ran, they saw canyons up ahead. The ground went from grass to rock. The beam pointed right between the canyons.

Eren glared, as he ran faster. Mikasa gripped her sword, as they ran in.

"There!", cried Mikasa, seeing a figure up ahead. They stopped, both out of breath, as the crystal was beaming right at the hooded figure ahead of them.

"You're the one...", Eren growled. "Show yourself!", Mikasa demanded, pointing her sword at the figure.

The figure suddenly pulled her hood back.

"Annie!?", Eren's eyes grew wide, while Mikasa glared.

"Clever of you two. I didn't know you could still acquire that crystal from the Unicorn's foal. This game truly is full of surprises", Annie sneered.

"Why the hell did you do this?! Why did you kill another player?! How are you hacking the game?!", Eren demanded, as Mikasa remained quiet, glaring.

Annie gave a sick smile. "Why indeed...", she said. Eren glared.

"Enough of this", Mikasa glared, as she raised her sword again.

"She can't be reasoned with Eren, she's a monster", she growled. "No, we can do this without killing another player!", Eren protested.

"You want to let her live?!", Mikasa asked, glaring.

"I don't want you to sink to her level, Mikasa! You're better than that!", Eren explained. Mikasa didn't answer, glaring at Annie still.

Suddenly, Annie began to chuckle. A strange chuckle. Eren looked at her, and she began to manically laugh.

"You fools...!", she cackled, when suddenly, in an explosion, she transformed. Eren and Mikasa jumped back, to see she had become a titan.

"Impossible...! The game's creator disabled characters!", Eren yelled.

"She hacked it!", Mikasa growled.

Annie glared dangerously. Mikasa suddenly used her 3DM gear. "Mikasa!", Eren followed her.

"I can't forgive you, Annie!", Mikasa raised her swords, as she swung around Annie.

She went to slash Annie's side, when suddenly Annie slammed her fist right into Mikasa's body.

"MIKASA!", Eren yelled, as he froze mid air. Mikasa's body was sent flying several feet away. She rolled on the ground, before stopping, landed on her stomach.

She was motionless, her health bar had went down only a little bit, but the force of it knocked her out.

Eren growled, glaring dangerously.

"MIKASA!", he went to fly over to her, but Annie grabbed his cable. Eren's heart sunk, as Annie threw him into one of the canyons violently.

Eren gritted his teeth, blood coming out of his mouth, as he felt unbearable pain in his back. His vision had gone blurry for a moment.

The force from Annie's blow was so hard, his body had broke some of the rock.

His eyes traveled, until he saw Mikasa laying motionless still. Annie approached her.

"Mikasa...!", Eren growled, as he pulled himself out of the rock. He then used his gear, flying towards them.

Annie reached her hand down at Mikasa, who was unconscious.

"DON'T! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!", Eren screamed dangerously. He felt his blood boil, something was happening inside of him.

A rage...something was building.

Mikasa stirred, looking up. Before she could react, Annie grabbed her around the middle.

"MIKASA!", Eren yelled, as he flew closer, going as fast as he could.

Annie glared, and suddenly squeezed Mikasa's middle tightly. Mikasa gritted her teeth in pain, when suddenly Annie's grip tightened.

Mikasa suddenly felt an unbearable pain shoot through her chest, like bullets of fire kept shooting her ribs.

She realized her ribs were broken, and the pain overwhelmed her. Her health bar suddenly went down to the red zone.

"AAHHHHHH!", she screamed in agony. Eren's heart sunk at the scream. The sound made his heart skip a beat, and his stomach twisted in horror.

Seeing her, in a titan's grip, being hurt, and screaming like that. It awakened something deep within Eren.

A memory of her smiling face appeared in his mind, and he suddenly...the rage exploded within him.

"LET HER GO!", Eren suddenly flew over on his cables, and slashed Annie's side, blood spraying out.

Annie staggered, dropping Mikasa. Eren then came right back, slashing Annie's legs, more blood spraying out.

Glaring dangerously, he then slashed down her back. Annie roared in pain, as her knees gave out. Eren flew back down, and suddenly slashed his sword across her neck.

He slashed deeply, using all of his muscle strength, until her head flew off. Blood splashed and sprayed everywhere, as her head hit the ground.

Eren landed, panting heavily, as Annie's titan body collapsed, steam coming from it. He froze then, looking over.

"Mikasa!", he hurried over to her. Mikasa was clutching her burning chest, struggling to breathe evenly.

"E-Eren...", she said breathlessly. Eren fell to his knees at her side, and cradled her in his arms.

"Easy, don't try to talk...you're hurt bad", Eren soothed her. Mikasa struggled to breathe, as she coughed, wheezing slightly, inhaling sharply.

Eren quickly grabbed a health potion from his inventory, as Mikasa gripped onto his hand. She sweated from the pain, her breathing becoming labored.

Eren then carefully helped Mikasa drink it. Mikasa's health bar slowly went back up, as her bones healed. She gritted her teeth from the pain, as her fracture reconstructed itself inside her.

Eren watched anxiously, as her health bar filled back up all the way to green.

Mikasa exhaled, able to breathe properly again.

"Eren...", she said. "Mikasa...", Eren looked into her eyes, as they were both frozen for a second.

Suddenly, they kissed, their lips meeting. Eren wrapped his arms around her, and dipped her as they lay on the ground, so he was over top of her, but held onto her.

He ran his hand through her hair, as Mikasa wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I thought I lost you...", Eren mused as they gently broke the tender kiss.

"Eren...I love you. So much...", Mikasa confessed.

"I love you too...Mikasa, I was so scared you were...", Eren said shakily. "I'm right here, I'm not leaving", Mikasa assured him, gently pressing her forehead to his.

Eren blushed a bit, as they sat up.

They kissed once more, wrapping their arms around each other.

"Hey!", they suddenly heard Armin's voice. They broke apart, standing, Eren helping Mikasa up. They saw Armin and Rubi running towards them.

"We came as soon as we could!", Rubi panted. "Are you two hurt?", asked Mikasa worriedly. "No, we're fine! You guys?", asked Rubi.

"We're okay...", Eren replied. He then darkly glared at Annie's titan body.

"What happened here?", asked Armin. "It's a long story", Eren replied. Mikasa glared then, seeing Annie, as a human now, was crawling out of her dead titan body.

Mikasa walked over to her. "Mikasa...", said Rubi.

Mikasa suddenly kicked Annie in the stomach. Annie cried out, curling up, but glared.

"Not so tough as a human, are you?", Mikasa growled dangerously. "So what are you gonna do?! Kill me?", asked Annie.

Mikasa glared. Eren watched worriedly. "No. I won't dishonor myself, or stain my sword with your filthy blood. You're not worth it", Mikasa replied then.

Eren smiled softly. "We're taking you to the MP...they'll know what to do with you", Mikasa growled.

Annie glared, as Eren and Mikasa restrained her.

When they returned to the safe zone, they turned Annie, and her helpers, Bertolt and Reiner, to the MP.

"We'll be keeping these three locked up...thank you all", a member of the MP said, grateful.

"We're just glad the safe zone is actually safe again", Eren said.

"Do you have any idea how she even hacked the game?", asked Mikasa. "We don't yet, but we plan to get some answers out of her", replied the MP.

Eren nodded, as the MP walked Annie, Bertolt and Reiner away in hand cuffs.

Annie glared behind her at them.

"You'll pay for this", she threatened dangerously. Eren glared at her, while Mikasa didn't say anything back.

"Guys, I know her threats are empty, but we should watch our backs for a while", Rubi said. Eren and Mikasa looked at her and Armin.

"She still was able to hack the game, at extreme levels. I'm sure we've seen the last of her but...let's just all be careful", Armin added.

Eren nodded. He intended on it. Mikasa's scream rang through his ears. He vowed to never see her put in such danger again. Never.


	8. Love

**Author's Note: And the smut chapter is here! I know it's not as graphic as I normally write them, but its a new style I'm trying where it's a lot more tender and romantic, even erotic, rather than just graphic smut. ALSO, Head's up! Starting Feb 1st, there may not be any updates until Feb 5th. Due to errands, plus on the 4th I'm going to see A Dog's Purpose! ALSO, a scene in this chapter reflects how I differ Mikasa from Asuna.**

 _Level Eight:_

 _Love_

It was evening, players in inns celebrated the fact the Safe Zone was once again safe, while whispers and murmurs spread, wondering how and why a player hacked the system.

What was her motive? What was she trying to prove? What drove her?

"If you think about it...", Armin said, the group sitting at the table. "It makes sense. Any type of person could have logged on to Sword Attack Online. Sadistics, perverts...even psychopaths", he said.

"So you're saying Annie...", asked Rubi.

"It's unknown if she was some serial killer in the real world. Perhaps not, perhaps...since she knows she's stuck in this game, all of her homicidal thoughts could no longer stay thoughts. There's no law in a game, killing isn't even frowned upon", Armin replied.

"She didn't expect to get caught...", Mikasa added.

"But why go to such extremes as hacking the game? She could kill any player in a non safe zone", Eren pointed out.

"She could...but not without them putting up a fight. She doesn't seem to want a challenge, she's just blood thirsty. She comes to the safe zone because its easy kills...", Rubi said.

"I'm just glad she's locked up", Armin admitted.

Once it got later, everyone turned in. Mikasa and Eren were still awake though. They were in Mikasa's room.

"Mikasa, what's up?", asked Eren softly. She had asked he follow her to her room. Mikasa blushed a bit, looking at him.

She didn't say anything at first, as she then went to slip part of her top down her shoulder. Eren blushed, and even froze.

"Mikasa...what...", he started, but she suddenly kissed him. Eren turned red, but then relaxed returning the passionate kiss.

Mikasa's lips pressed firmly against his, as she kissed him more aggressivly, gripping his shoulders.

"Mmmm...Eren...", she mused, her eyes were different tonight. There was such a yearning in them. Eren gazed into them.

"Mikasa...are you...", he started, seeing her remove her top.

"Eren...as long as we're trapped in this game, any day one of us could get killed...so please, before we miss the chance...", Mikasa leaned in closer to him.

"I want you...if only just tonight...", she whispered. Eren felt his heart skip a beat, realizing. His body tensed but in excitement.

"Mikasa...", he kissed her then, as he ran his hand through her hair, causing her to blush.

Mikasa took his hand, and guided it down to one of her breasts. Eren turned red, tensing, but as soon as he heard her moan, and the look of bliss on her face, he relaxed.

"Eren...", Mikasa whispered, as she slipped her bra off. Eren kissed her deeper, and lowered her onto the bed.

He removed his own shirt, as he kissed her neck then, cupping her breast. Mikasa moaned out a bit louder, clutching a handful of sheets, her body tensing in pleasure.

The couple continued into the night, the only light in the room was from the full moon outside.

The room was soon filled with constant loud moans from Mikasa, the bed began shaking hard, as Eren started to groan deeply.

They were both completely undressed at this point, under the covers as Eren thrusted into her. Mikasa's nails dug into his back, her eyes shut tightly in pleasure as she cried out, her breathing becoming labored.

"E-Eren...!", she cried out, moaning louder and louder. Eren's heart skipped a beat each time she cried out his name, as he watched her, studying her beautiful face.

She was in complete bliss from pleasure, totally relaxed, forgetting about the real world, even if just for a moment.

The yearning in her eyes was so intense. And Eren felt the same way. "Mikasa...!", he groaned, feeling himself get close, thrusting faster.

Mikasa cried out loudly then, her legs suddenly stretched out a bit, feeling her back start to arche.

"E-Eren..! I'm...!", she suddenly was unable to form words as she moaned out loudly in pleasure, reaching her climax.

Eren released inside her at the same time, growling deeply, a sound that turned Mikasa on. He gasped for breath at the same time as her.

Mikasa panted deeply for air, recovering from her intense orgasm, as Eren collapsed beside her. Their breathing was labored, as Eren gently stroked her cheek.

"Mikasa...I didn't hurt you, did I?", he asked worriedly. "No...Eren, it was...amazing...", Mikasa replied breathlessly.

She cuddled rested her head on his chest, cuddling close to him, her breathing remaining heavy. Eren stroked her bare shoulder, kissing her hair.

"Mikasa...", he said. "Yes?", asked Mikasa softly.

"Will you marry me...?", Eren asked then. Mikasa smiled softly. She managed to lift herself up a little so she was looking at him.

"Yes...", she replied, her eyes expressing such happiness. Eren smiled, and pulled her close as they kissed softly.

"I love you so much, Mikasa...", Eren breathed. "I love you too Eren...I want this more than anything", Mikasa replied.

Eren blushed, as he stroked her hair, as she lay on top of him, her breasts pressing firmly against his chest, as they gazed longingly into each other's eyes.

Mikasa smiled a bit more then. She then kissed him deeply. Eren blushed, returning the kiss. "Mmmm...let's keep going", Mikasa moaned. Her voice turned him on all over again, and they went made love two more times that night.

When morning came, the two lay in bed. Mikasa was resting her head on Eren's chest, listening to his heartbeat. They had a white sheet over them, their clothes on the floor.

Mikasa slept soundly exhausted, and so did Eren.

"Eren! Mikasa! It's 11!", Rubi said loudly, as she opened their bedroom door without knocking. She froze then, seeing them. They didn't even wake, both too tired.

Rubi didn't say a word, a scarred look on her face, as she slowly closed the door. "Okaaay...that image is going to haunt my nightmares...", she muttered.

She shook her head, but at the same time she smiled, happy for Mikasa.

When Eren and Mikasa were finally awake, they had got a shower and dressed, and were eating breakfast with Armin and Rubi.

"So, I heard word from the MP that those Beta Centipedes are on the loose now", Armin alerted them. "What?!", asked Eren.

"Because she was the one controlling them, and we took that power away, now those things have gone rogue, and are attacking random cities close by", Armin explained.

"They want all members to meet them at the inn to discuss what to do about this", Rubi added. Eren and Mikasa exchanged glances.

"Okay, we better go meet them", Mikasa said.

As the group walked down town to the inn, Rubi suddenly nudged Mikasa. Mikasa blinked.

"Miki, you fox...!", Rubi teased then, giving a look.

"What are you talking about, Rubi?", asked Mikasa, not getting it at first.

"I'm talking about you and Eren", Rubi grinned. Mikasa instantly turned red.

"Y-You heard us?!", she cried. "Thankfully, no, but I did see you two this morning", Rubi replied.

Mikasa turned more red. "You sure you didn't hear us?", she asked. Rubi blinked. "Huh...I always did think you were a loud one", she teased.

" _Rubi_!", Mikasa hissed, she wasn't surprised Rubi was teasing though.

"Soooo how was it, sis?", Rubi asked.

Mikasa remained very red, frowning a bit. "It was...amazing", she said, looking down, a small smile appearing. Rubi smiled then.

"I'm glad you're happy...", she said. "Well...actually sis...Eren asked me to marry him", Mikasa confessed then.

Rubi paused. "HE WHAT?!", she bellowed. Eren and Armin froze, looking at the girls.

"Oi! JAEGER! You asked my precious sister to marry you, without even asking my permission first?!", Rubi collared him, grabbing the front of his shirt.

"Since when does someone even ask permission for that?!", asked Eren.

"Sis! I accepted, I really love Eren", Mikasa said.

Rubi glared at Eren. "Listen here Jaeger, you better treat my sister like a fucking QUEEN", Rubi snarled.

"I will!", Eren replied, as she tightened her grip on his shirt.

"Not a princess, a QUEEN", Rubi growled.

"I get it! Trust me, Rubi...I love Mikasa", Eren assured her. Mikasa blushed, smiling. Rubi glared at him still, but finally let him go.

"You better not fail", she growled. "Sis, why were you more angry about that then...", Mikasa began to ask.

"Because sex is a one time deal sometimes! Marriage is life!", Rubi replied. "Wait...you two had sex?!", Armin asked, totally in the dark.

Eren and Mikasa both turned red, not saying anything. The ground eventually made it to the inn, where the other members of the Scouts were, with Levi, Hanji and the rest.

"We can't attack the city with explosives, there's people there!", someone was protesting.

"What choice do we have? We'll never be able to take out all 30 of those bastards with just our swords", Levi growled.

"At the very least, they don't regenerate anymore so that does give us some help", Hanji said.

"What cities are they attacking?", asked Eren.

"Only two, and they're all close by", replied Hanji. "Have the players been evacuated?", asked Mikasa.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?!", Mikasa demanded.

"Yes, but that's not the problem", Levi replied, looking annoyed with the team.

"What is then?", asked Eren. "The problem is members of this team are against using explosive items since there's in game people...", replied Hanji sighing.

Mikasa glared, looking at the team.

"Seriously?", she growled."They're still people...we can't just bomb them", someone said. Mikasa glared darkly.

She then exited for a few moments. They all waited, confused, when she suddenly came back in with an in game person.

"What are you doing?!", someone demanded, as Mikasa drew her blade.

Not saying anything, she slashed the in game person. He dissolved into pixels.

"Pathetic...we have REAL humans in this game, who are at risk of getting devoured by those giant insects, and you're hesitating for pixels?! Pixels that take the shape of humans and don't even feel pain or bleed?!", she snarled, angrily.

Everyone was silent, some looking ashamed.

"I don't care how real they appear to you, they aren't", Mikasa said firmly. "Mikasa's right. The longer we wait, those things may travel to safe zones", Eren agreed.

She truly was wiser than most of them. "And what about the areas where children players are?", added Rubi, agreeing.

"I know they seem like real people when you buy from their shops, but they're not", added Armin.

The people remained quiet. "Then it's settled. We're going to bomb those areas, exterminate the pests", Levi said.

The Scouts traveled to the first town that had the centipedes. It was an hour walk. "Good job back there, Ackerman", Levi said.

Mikasa blinked. "You know not to let your emotions blind you, that's the kind of solider we need", Levi explained.

"I just stated the obvious. We can't worry about in game people when we have real lives at stake", Mikasa replied.

During a break stop about half way there, Eren sat by Mikasa. "Hey...listen...", he said softly. "What is it, Eren?", asked Mikasa.

"It's pretty obvious we're going to be in this game for a long time yet. Our next floor is only floor 42", Eren said.

"I know...", Mikasa said softly. There was a worried look in her eyes, thinking of her mother. "I know you want to get back to your mom, but...if we don't take breaks once in a while, we'll never make it", Eren went on.

Mikasa looked at him. "What do you mean breaks?", she asked.

"I mean...I want to get permission from Levi, for you and me to...go on leave from all this for a few months. To just...get married and enjoy marriage life...", Eren replied.

Mikasa's eyes softened, as she slightly blushed.

"I know how much you want to get back, but...", Eren said.

"I want that too. Eren, when we ever do return to our world...we may not even be able to stay together. We live in different countries, and we're not even 18 yet. So...there will be a period in the real world where we'll be apart", Mikasa explained, having thought about all this.

Eren looked down. It was very true. The thought has indeed crossed his mind many times. In Sword Attack Online, Eren and Mikasa could live together. Physically touch each other.

They could be married and it wouldn't be frowned upon for their age.

But in the real world...they were just teenagers. Mikasa lived in Japan, and Eren lived in Germany. It was only because of this game they could meet.

And once they returned, they would be apart for a long while, until they were old enough to move out of their parents' homes.

"I know this is going to sound strange, Mika...but I'm glad we're trapped in this game. If it wasn't for it, we'd never meet...", Eren admitted.

Mikasa smiled softly. "I know...but, once we do get back...even if we are apart for a while, we'll find a way back to each other", Mikasa said.

Eren smiled. "We will, I promise you", he said. "And in the real world, I'll buy you a proper wedding ring", he added. Mikasa blushed, smiling.

She leaned in close, as the two kissed softly. Eren stroked her hair, pulling her close.

When the group continued on, they eventually made it to the town. There were several centipedes there.

"Okay...Hanji, Erwin and I will plant the bombs. The rest of you distract them", Levi ordered.

They all drew their swords. "We're ready", Eren said. They engaged their 3DM gear, and flew towards the giant centipedes.

Mikasa slashed one's head off quickly, blood splashing out. Eren slashed another in half, while Rubi flew up, slashing one down its middle, its body splitting in half.

Armin slashed at another's head off, glaring.

Levi dashed passed the four that had just been taken out, and planted the first explosive under five others.

He flew out of the way, slashing the heads off of three in a row, as the first bomb exploded, killing the five.

"Hanji! Plant the second one by those 3!", he ordered. "Got it!", Hanji flew at three, and planted the bomb.

Eren and Mikasa flew towards two centipedes that appeared from the forest. They flew over them, and took the slashed both heads off at the same time.

"You can tell those two have trained since the beginning together", Armin said, as he took down another.

The bomb exploded, taking out the three.

"They don't even have to talk, they just look at each other and know what tactic they're going for", added Rubi, as she stood her guard.

Another one appeared from the forest. "Mikasa!", Eren said, glaring. "I got it!", she assured him, flying towards it.

Eren flew down, and slashed all of its legs off. The monster collapsed loudly, the ground shaking.

Mikasa glared, and she flew down so fast she spun, and as she spun her sword slashed the centipede's back, being able to spin made the cut even deeper and more fatal.

Blood sprayed out, as Mikasa landed, glaring behind her at it. The creature was dead, as Erwin planted the third bomb next to five more.

Eren grinned at Mikasa's skill, as the third bomb exploded. The five centipedes collapsed.

"That's all of them here!", Levi confirmed. They all landed, taking a breath.

"Just one more town. The population should be smaller over there", Levi said.

"How far is this town?", asked Armin. "It's a long walk from here, so we'll camp tonight on the way", Hanji replied.

"If we don't take care of them, they'll travel to a safe zone, or god forbid breed", Levi added.

As the group continued through the forest, heading to the next town, it was getting warmer out.

Hearing her breathing go a bit heavy, Eren stopped. "Here, Mika", he flashed up his inventory screen, and gave her a bottle of cold water.

"Thanks, Eren...sorry I usually don't run out of breath this easy", she said softly, as she drank it.

"Don't apologize, that was the first time you did a battle stunt like that. It took a lot of your endurance", Eren assured her.

"That was really awesome", Armin added. Mikasa held Eren's hand as they continued.

"We'll camp here", Levi stopped then. As the group set up for camp, Mikasa and Rubi collected firewood with some of the others while Armin gathered some fruit and berries from the area.

Eren approached Levi. "Levi...I need to ask something", Eren said. Levi looked at him.

"Mikasa and I...are requested leave, for a few months", Eren said. "Leave for what?", asked Levi.

"We're going to get married, and we just need some time off to ourselves for a while. I love her, more than anything...and when we ever do get back to the real world, we may be separated so...", Eren explained.

Levi scoffed. "Spare me the sappy love details and just take 4 months", he answered. Eren blinked.

"Really?", he asked. "Yes, now go collect some firewood before I change my mind", Levi replied.

"Thank you sir", Eren said, grateful.

 **Author's Note: Tbh, when Asuna had this big issue with killing in game people, it ALWAYS pissed me off, and was what turned me off to her character. Will be updating soon!**


End file.
